def METHOD_NAME(fips_dir):
    # evaluates the .emscripten config file and returns key/value pairs of content
    config = {}
    config_path = get_em_config(fips_dir)
    os.environ['EM_CONFIG'] = config_path
    try:
        with open(config_path, 'r') as f:
            config_text = f.read()
            exec(config_text, config)
    except Exception as e:
        log.error("error in evaluating .emscripten file at '{}' with '{}'".format(config_path, str(e)))
    return config