The latest round of United Nations climate change talks kicked off in the oil-rich Middle East nation of Qatar earlier this week.
The decision to host the annual summit in the Qatari capital of Doha is ironic since the city has the the largest carbon footprint per person in the world.
Even though Qatar has been described as a "country in transition" (the Persian Gulf emirate has only been independent since 1971, and it has been governed by Amir Hamad since 1995, when he deposed his father in a bloodless coup) it is still the world's richest nation by Gross Domestic Product per capita, home to countless luxury hotels, a five-star airline, and the third-largest reserves of natural gas in the world.
So what can the 17,000 people from almost 200 countries flying in to Doha for the two-week conference expect?
The world's third largest natural gas reserves in the world are sitting under a country smaller than Connecticut.
Being rich has become a birthright for native Qataris. The government redistributes money from its resources to citizens, resulting in the record $88,221 GDP per capita.
Source: The New York Times
Qatari citizens also get other perks like free electricity and water, which offers little incentive to cut back on usage.
Source: The Telegraph
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