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Korean Peninsula Tensions; Dow Takes Another Dive; Migrants Invading Greece; Women in Elite U.S. Military Units; Climate Change Examined. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired August 21, 2015 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:08] ROBYN CURNOW, HOST: Welcome to the International Desk, I'm Robyn Curnow live from the CNN Center.
Our top story unfolding on the Korean peninsula. North Korea says it's now inching closer to the brink of war after Thursday's exchange of artillery
fire with the South.
Tensions on the peninsula are ramping up again with Pyongyang enraged over this sound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: South Korea loud speakers blaring criticism of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un's regime.
The North has told the South to turn it down or face more military action. That deadline is approaching in less than 24 hours. South Korea is
promising to take pre-emptive action if needed and it isn't pulling its rhetorical punches either. Listen to what officials there had to say.
JEON HA-GYU, SOUTH KOREAN MILITARY SPOKESPERSON: (As translated) Our Korean military immediately raised an alert status to the highest level and
is closely monitoring movements of North Korean's military. We're also maintaining our military readiness to strongly respond if there is any
further provocation by North Korean.
PARK GUEN-HYE, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT: (As translated) As North Korea continuously maintains a hostile attitude and makes threats, South Korea
needs to prepare its military. (All key) exercises a good opportunity to check our readiness in protecting National Security and our people's lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well CNN's Kathy Novak is covering the story and she filed this report for us earlier from South Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHY NOVAK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: South Korea's Defense Ministry says it will strongly retaliate if there is further provocation
from North Korea and the state run News Agency KCNA says North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un called an emergency meeting of his central military
commission and ordered his army to be prepared to launch surprise attacks.
There's a deadline looming. Pyongyang has told South Korea that it must stop its campaign of psychological warfare by 5pm tomorrow or it will take
military action. It's angry because South Korea has been using propaganda speakers set up along the border to broadcast anti North Korean messages
into North Korea.
On the weekend Pyongyang threatened to blow up those speakers and threatened indiscriminate attacks against South Korea.
But South Korea is refusing to stop the broadcast. It says they are in retaliation for landmine attacks that injured two of its soldiers that it
is blaming on North Korea. And because it is refusing to stop the broadcast it is preparing for further provocation tomorrow. The military
here is on high alert.
This is all happening while the United States and South Korea hold joint military exercises those always anger the regime of Kim Jong-un and cause
further tensions here on the Korean peninsula. The United States Defense Department says it is monitoring the situation closely.
Kathy Novak, CNN Paju, South Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Now tensions between the two Korea's do ebb and flow so is this latest flare-up any different? Let's bring in Victor Cha from Washington
for some perspective on that. He's the Director of Government and International Affairs at Georgetown University and the Korea Chair at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Thanks so much for joining us. So now the unlikely cause of much of this tension is those loud speakers we heard. Why are these messages angering
the North Koreans so much. In fact what is broadcast? What do they say?
VICTOR CHA, DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: So I think it's angering them for two reasons, one is the fact
that they re-started, they haven't been doing the broadcasting for five years. The second is the content, what they're saying.
These broadcasts are very personal vilifications of the North Korean leadership.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHA: They talk about famine, they talk about Human Rights abuses and sometimes they use the voice of defectors, people who - recordings of
people who identify themselves as defectors, North Korean defectors that are broadcasting these messages. So it's a very personal attack against
the leader and the regime. And the North Korean's you know react very negatively to that.
CURNOW: So you say these haven't been used in a number of years, they were also started during the Cold War. Why now? Why are they being
resurrected?
CHA: Well I think that the - I think from the South Korean side it's mainly in retaliation for the mine blast that occurred August 4th in which
these two South Korean patrol soldiers, one of them I think lost their legs and the other one lost a foot. And so any time you have these sorts of
provocations that lead to some sort of casualty on the South Korean side, the South Korean government is obligated to respond you know after what
happened in 2010 when the North Koreans sank a South Korean naval vessel and killed 46 sailors and they shelled an island and killed two or three
people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:05:20] CHA: Any time you have those sorts of casualties on the South Korean side you can be sure the South Korean government is going to react
strongly to that. And so they chose a none kinetic response which is to restart the broadcasting. But then the North Korean's have responded in a
very kinetic way to those broadcasts.
CURNOW: Well let's talk about the North Korean response. I mean is there response an indication that they're sensitive to this, that they're nervous
about these announcements because it's becoming increasingly difficult to isolate North Koreans and these of course often broadcast news like you
said, you know messages from defectors. Is their reaction an indication that this is really working?
CHA: No, I think - I think it is. I mean this regime particularly under the new leader is very, very sensitive to personal attacks against the
leadership.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHA: We all remember the hack of Sony after the movie, The Interview came out so they're very hyper sensitive to this. And I think that reflects not
strength but it reflects an insecurity on the part of the Jong leadership and also on the part of the regime in terms of their domestic situation.
This fellow was still executing high level officials four years into his time in office. That is not the sign of a very stable power transition.
So I think for all these reasons the North Koreans are reacting very angrily. It is happening while U.S. ROK exercises are going on but I
really think this is a reaction to the loud speaker broadcast which in turn is a reaction to - a South Korean reaction to the mine blast that injured
these two South Korean soldiers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well you talk about a regime that's insecure potentially unstable. How do you think then they're going to react in the next 24 hours? Is
something going to change dramatically? Because this is often just a theatrical conflict isn't it.
CHA: Yes, it often is and usually if nobody gets hurt it is a theatrical conflict in that sense. But there are a couple of things a little bit
different this time. The first is you know they sent direct communications, the North Koreans did through the military and directly to
the South Korean National Security Advisor delivering this ultimatum with regard to the speakers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHA: And the South Korean government they're not going to back down. You know they, after what happened in 2010 there's really little tolerance for
more North Korean provocation. So in many ways we're caught in the next 24 hours in a classic game of chicken in which neither side is really willing
to back down. And we just don't know what's going to happen. We don't - I - there isn't a clear off ramp at this point.
CURNOW: OK, thanks so much for your analysis. Victor Cha there from Georgetown University. I appreciate it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: To Bangkok now, Thailand, where police have tripled the reward for $84,000 for the main suspect in Monday's bombing at the Erawan Shrine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Investigators unsure if he is still in the country. He's described as a foreigner who was seen putting a backpack under a bench just
before the explosion. Police also looking for a woman who was wearing a black shirt.
The Thai Police Commissioner says he believes a large network carried out the attack that killed 20 people, but says it's unlikely it's connected to
international terrorism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well eyes of the financial world are on Wall Street where stocks have plunged again after the DOW's biggest drop in four years' Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Here's a look at the big board. There you can see the down is down just under 130 points and this lies of course yesterday 358 point
drop. And as part of a global downward trend, let's go to the European markets. There you can see London, Frankfurt, Tokyo. Also we know
Shanghai all sharply lower Friday. In fact the Shanghai Composite shed about 10% for the week.
It's a combination of factors that's sparking this global sell-off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: CNN's Chief Business Correspondent, Christine Romans, joins me now from New York.
Hi there, I mean markets don't like uncertainty and there's a lot of that around isn't there?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, everyone's driving a car with that bumper sticker right now in the markets. No we
don't like uncertainty and there's so many.
Look, they're uncertain about when the Fed will raise interest rates. It was very clear from the minutes of the most recent Federal Open Market
Committee meeting that Robyn they, you know Janet Yellen has a divided Fed on her hands. They will raise interest rates but the question is when
because of all that's happening around the world.
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ROMANS: You have sliding commodities, a crash in commodity prices really. Most notably oil. Oil prices down very, very sharply reflecting global
growth concerns, also reflecting an awful lot of oil in the - the world's awash in oil quite frankly.
[10:10:13] And then you have these concerns about China, uncertainty about China just how dramatically its growth might be slowing down in China. So
all of these things piling on together at a market - a stock market that's very closely really to record highs a few weeks ago piling in there for the
cell signal here.
CURNOW: OK, and also the darlings of the markets are some of the stocks that are taking the heaviest hit.
ROMANS: (Inaudible) a very, very good point. Look at Disney, I think it's down 18% over the past few weeks almost entering their market territory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Netflix which has been just a star performer in the S&P 500 was down sharply yesterday. All the media stuff down yesterday. Anything
related to energy stocks. All those energy stocks are down very sharply.
And then you've got concerns about the big multi-national companies with a strong dollar. The big multi-national companies, what is it going to mean
for their earnings. Since you know you look at the S&P 500 almost 50% of the earnings at the S&P 500 come from overseas.
So this is really a story of trying to recalibrate expectations for what the end of the year is going to look like. When the Fed will raise its
interest rate, just how dire are things that might be in China, what's that's going to mean for everybody else. And that's why if you've got a
market - now the DOW is down 7% from its - from its record peak but it isn't - it hasn't had a correction yet. It hasn't had a correction Robyn
in 1,418 days as of today, which is pretty remarkable.
There has been resilience every time there have been these quick questions around the world, we'll have to just see if there's going to be resilience
this time where they finally look at that correction.
CURNOW: Christine Romans in New York, thank you so much.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
CURNOW: Well up next. A story we've been covering all week. Migrants are flooding into a tiny Greek Island known for its tourist trade. Some
residents are angry about the influx while others are more accepting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean what we can do is shoot them, no. We can't shoot them, they are coming of course it's very difficult for us but we
can't push them away.
CURNOW: We'll have the latest in the migrant crisis in Kos, Greece, next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Riot police fire on what appears - fire what appears to tear gas to disperse thousands of migrants trying to enter Macedonia from Greece.
At least four people were injured when panic ensued on Thursday and Macedonia declared a statement of emergency in two border regions.
The country has become a major transit point for migrants trying to reach European countries through the North.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: From tension in Macedonia to Greece. Refugees have been arriving on the tiny island of Kos on overcrowded boats as they flee war and poverty
back home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: As Atika Shubert now reports they aren't getting a very warm welcome in a town known for its tourist trade.
[10:15:08] ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The stately sailing ships off the Greek Island of Kos used to carry fishermen
and tourists but this afternoon a very different kind of passenger arrives at the main por.
We can see their families, women and children, babies as well.
One by one close to 200 refugees disembark. They register their names with local police then walk ashore. Middle class families from Syria and Iraq
what could almost be a picture of a family holiday if they weren't fleeing a war back home.
The touristy cafes that line the picturesque port are the first stop for many in need of a bathroom and a drink.
Not everyone welcomes them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not one person, it's not one person there are thousands, we cannot support them, I'm very sorry. We are already sick.
CURNOW: Already reeling from a Euro debt crisis Greece is now shouldering the brunt of Europe's refugee and migrant crisis as well. For the Island
of Kos refugees have replaced tourists and business has suffered.
But for those who can afford the price of a cold drink at least one cafe manager offers refugees a place to rest before they have to find a place to
sleep.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well what we can do is shoot them, no? We can't shoot them. They are coming of course it's very difficult for us but we can't
push them away.
CURNOW: But not everyone can afford it. Next door Asian and African migrants crowd outside the police station. They have no toilets to use,
they sleep in tents on the beach, wash in the surf, and try to maintain appearances as best they can.
The number of new arrivals to Greece has quadrupled since last year and as the passengers on board this sailboat show the numbers will continue to
rise.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Kos, Greece.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Ahead, something that's never happened before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Today the U.S. Army will graduate the first woman ever to complete its premier Combat Leadership Program. You'll hear from them next.
And we're approaching 100 days until world leaders gather in Paris to combat climate change. We'll look at what they're up against.
All that and much more here at The International Desk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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CURNOW: Welcome back. Well history is being made in the American state of Georgia within the next hour as the first ever woman to graduate from the
U.S. Army Rangers School.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: That's Army's Premier Combat Leadership Training Capt. Kristen Griest, and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver completed the elite program. Both are
graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at Westpoint.
Griest is already a Military Police Officer and Haver is an Apache Helicopter Pilot. 17 other women were selected for ranger school all have
been disqualified except for one woman who could graduate next month.
The training is among the toughest in the U.S. Military with only about 40% of male candidates making it through.
The ranger motto is rangers lead the way and both women hope other women will follow them.
1st Lt. SHAYE HAVER, U.S. ARMY: I would say that it's definitely awesome to be part of the history of a ranger school in general so graduating with
these guys next to me and the 90 plus other ranger students that will graduate tomorrow probably will be one of the highlights of my life.
[10:20:14] To the other (inaudible) who plan on coming I hope that they come with strong minds, that's what it takes to get through here just like
everyone sitting next to me here had to do to make it to tomorrow.
CAPT. KRISTEN GRIEST, U.S. ARMY: Yes, I feel pretty much the same way. I'm just happy to be done with the course. I just came here to try to be a
better leader and improve myself and I feel like I did that. And for other women who have that same goal in mind, just keep that goal in mind, and you
know just don't lose sight of it and just keep reminding yourself of why you're there and you'll be fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well let's bring in our Pentagon Correspondent, Barbara Starr who joins me now from Washington.
Barbara, high there. So one female soldier has said that the dam has burst, do you think women will be serving in Seal teams with the Rangers
and the Marine Corps., or the Armor Divisions. Is it just a matter of time now?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well we're certainly going to have an answer to that question by the end of the year, Robyn.
The Pentagon for some months now has been working to see what jobs, what opportunities in combat could actually be opened up to women. The military
services as well as the special operations command have been working on looking at all of this. Their recommendations are due to the Secretary of
Defense around October.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: And then he will actually decide by the end of the year what exactly will be opened up to women. The presumption going into all of this
is that everything would be open to women unless a service or the special operations community saw it an exception and they would have to demonstrate
why they believe women could not serve in those roles.
So - but a lot of bias around the Rangers, the Seals, Army Delta Force, these very elite special operations unit to see if they will go ahead and
open up to women.
CURNOW: I mean this is a debate that's not just happening in the U.S., Britain for example doesn't let women in sort of close combat roles, the
sort of tip of the spear roles. Some soldiers, some Generals when you - when you go and read say having a woman around the frontline will disrupt
the warrior spirit will be a distraction, a diversion. I mean what do the special ops guys tell you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Well I think that where we are is in a potential very important new era in the U.S. Military at least.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Which is if you are in close combat you are so busy it really doesn't matter much who is on your left or right as long as that is a
qualified service member who can hold their own weight in the battlefield, who will be part of a team because the goal in combat really has nothing to
do with gender, it's about getting everybody out of combat safely, accomplishing the mission, and getting out of the combat zone when the
mission is accomplished.
So I think there's an awful lot of people that are coming to the realization that if women can do it, if they can meet the same precise
performance standards as men, and most special operations guys will tell you that's what's so vital, not a different standard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: If they can meet it, they should have the opportunity to serve. That's increasingly what you do begin to hear.
CURNOW: Because the fact is on the ground on many combat missions, women have been there supporting the Rangers and the Seals, so the change has
already been happening on the ground hasn't it?
STARR: Right, you're absolutely right. You know U.S. Military women increasingly have been in the war zone in very unique roles in recent
years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Especially in Afghanistan, they have been as female engagement teams. That's what they call them accompanying Special Operations into the
field when they've gone into villages and gone into areas so they can talk to the women who will, in these areas who obviously will not come out in
public and talk to, you know, U.S. male soldiers. But they will talk to female soldiers.
So that has been already happening. You know I think people see more of that possibility. But the notion of you know women in combat consider just
one statistic. More than 100 women have died in the warzone assigned to operations, various operations in recent years and more than 1,000 have
been injured.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: When you talk to U.S. military women they will tell you they are already in combat.
CURNOW: And already paying the ultimate price. Barbara Starr, thank you so much for bringing us your analysis and also talking about this
extraordinary role these women have played in the last week in terms of sending a message. Thank you so much Barbara.
STARR: Sure, thank you.
CURNOW: Well I want to just bring you an update.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[10:25:03] CURNOW: An explanation on women's roles in the military across the world. They differ wildly - widely by country. Now the United Kingdom
allows women to serve in select frontline roles particularly in the Air Force and the Royal Police.
But as I said to Barbara, they're not permitted to serve in close combat roles like the military and the Royal Armored Corps. at least not yet.
Israel on the other hand began putting women in combat roles in the 1980s. It's the only country that requires women to serve in the military and
around 90% of its jobs are open to women. However women cannot operate main battle tanks and the highest positions are held by men.
The Chinese military allows women to serve but in non-combat and support missions though several have served as fighter pilots. Most recently women
have been recruited into Chinas Honor Guard, a previously all male non- combat unit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: This is The International Desk. Ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Two digress Celsius. Why scientists say this is such a critical number in the climate change battle.
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CURNOW: Welcome to The International Desk, thanks for joining us, I'm Robyn Curnow, here are the headlines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: The North Korean Ambassador to China says the situation on the career peninsula is "inching closer to the brink of war." North Korea set
a deadline for the South to silence its loud speakers blasting propaganda at the border. That's set to expire less than 18 hours from now. Seoul
says its military is on its highest level of alert.
Police in Thailand have increased the reward for the main suspect in Monday's bombing at a Bangkok Shrine. But the police commissioner believes
a large network carried out the attack that killed 20 people.
Two men who were wanted by police have been questioned and cleared.
Riot police fire what appears to be tear gas at thousands of migrants trying to enter Macedonia from Greece. At least four people were injured
when panic ensued. On Thursday Macedonia declared a state of emergency in two border regions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Tomorrow will mark 100 days until world leaders meet in Paris for COP21. The United Nations conference climate change has been billed by
some experts as the last chance to avert a climate catastrophe.
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CURNOW: Scientists say the goal is to prevent global temperatures increasing by more than two degrees. Failure they warn will create
irreversible fallout.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:30:08] CURNOW: There's an even greater sense of urgency based on this year's data. 2015 is on track to be the hottest year on record.
CNN Columnist John Sutter explains what climatologist had set as a crucial benchmark.
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JOHN SUTTER, CNN COLUMNIST: It's probably the most important number you've never heard of. Environmental policy experts say that temperature, 2
degrees Celsius or 3.6 Fahrenheit may be the edge of the cliff for climate change.
If global average temperatures warm more than that will greatly up the odds of new and worsening climate (inaudible).
Stay below that mark and we may be able to avoid some of the worst aspects of global warming. Super droughts, mass extinctions and extreme sea level
rise which will hit coastal cities. When we burn gas in our cars or coal in our power plants we're adding carbon to the atmosphere and warming the
planet. Scientists say the earth's surface temperature has warmed 0.85 degrees Celsius since 1880 the Industrial Revolution.
If we want to slow climate change, we're going to have to cut back and fast. If we don't the world could hit 2 degree Celsius in just a few
decades. This simple little number raises a bunch of huge and complex questions. What exactly happens if we cross that threshold or even get
close? And how can we prevent that from happening?
Many experts say it's still possible for us to stop short of 2 degrees, to stay back from the cliff, but it's going to take a global effort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well John Sutter's in the studio with me. Thanks for joining us. I covered COP17 in Durbin, not much was achieved, neither had Copenhagen
why is this meeting going to be different?
SUTTER: I think there's much more enthusiasm for the Paris climate talks that start in December and I think one reason for that is that the U.S. and
China are both at the table and both already have pledged significant cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. has pledged to cut by about a
quarter its emissions leading up to 2025.
China very significantly has said it will cap its emissions and sort of turnaround around the 20/30 mark. So these are significant goals. They're
not enough yet according to the experts I've talked to to stop warming at two degree Celsius but they could put us on a path towards that goal if the
Paris talks go well and if it sort of sets the stage for more talks and more tightening of those goals going forward.
CURNOW: And when it comes down to it, I mean I've seen it, you've seen it, climate change has really having this very direct devastating effect on the
poorest of the poor, the developing world.
SUTTER: Yes, I think that it's become very clear that the developing world will be hit hardest by climate change and is least able to adapt. Another
negotiation point in Paris will be will there be money to help green the economies of the developing world.
I went out to the Marshall Islands which you know is one of the most impacted places, potentially it could go under water completely if sea
levels rise associated with two degree Celsius. Take a look at the package that I filed from that trip.
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SUTTER: This is the Marshall Islands, a country way out in the Pacific. It's already super tiny and it's about to get smaller. Why's that? The
ocean is rising.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I looked out the window, wow, I was so scared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was water on the bed that I sleep on. It was kind of like a dream but it was real.
SUTTER: Way out here there's no room for debate. Climate change is real and people see it happening now. The island's just barely peek out above
sea level. If these rise, even just a meter or two, scientists say this country will vanish.
Where would you go if climate change wiped your country off the map? If you're Marshallese, there's a surprising answer; Arkansas, Springdale to be
exact.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Northwest Arkansas has the largest number of Marshallese in the Continental United States.
SUTTER: Since the 1980s the Marshallese have been coming to Springdale in search of jobs and education. The Consulate tells me 10,000 Marshallese
already live in this area and with climate change more people are probably on the way.
(CYNTHIA): A person called me and said have you thought about climate change refugees.
When days of big waves come in you can hear it all night long.
SUTTER: (Cynthia) grew up in (Rita), a neighborhood on the water, she moved to Arkansas last year in part because of terrifying floods.
(CYNTHIA): I feel safe here but I don't hear the scary sound of the ocean. I don't have to sleep and think about the wave coming in.
SUTTER: (Cynthia's) nephew, (Mark) arrived in February leaving his girlfriend and two children behind in the islands.
(MARK): They would have to come here to live here 'cause if global warming the islands will disappear.
[10:35:01] SUTTER: (Cynthia) and (Mark) live in a three bedroom apartment with eight other family members. It sounds cramped but that's kind of like
home.
(CYNTHIA): I'm used to sleeping with my children and my nieces, my nephews, that's how we usually sleep, that's how we get close to one
another.
SUTTER: For now, moving to Springdale is a choice for most Marshallese but within our lifetimes flooding associated with climate change could start
forcing people out. In other words, Springdale Arkansas could become the new Marshall Islands. But here's the thing. If nothing changes
Marshallese kids won't have any choice about whether to move back to their home. Those islands, their country, won't exist.
It's up to us to cut carbon emissions and fast otherwise what now is a climate migration will likely become a refugee crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know thinking about my father who's body is there on (inaudible). Even though they passed away but their bodies are there.
If the island sink, it is like losing them forever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: That was a really powerful piece and really points to the sort of moral imperative. But I mean there's still a lot of climate change deniers
out there despite the obvious facts.
SUTTER: Yes, I will say that almost none of the climate change deniers are in the Marshall Islands. Everyone there I talked to for the most part knew
about this and was well aware what's happening and why.
I spent a week in Oklahoma recently in a county that is highly skeptical of climate change, statistically among the most skeptical. And it is - it is
very surprising to me that people continue to deny these facts. I think it's partly the political climate especially in the U.S. There are many
politicians with you know big platforms saying that climate change is some sort of hoax or is invented.
I think there's a lot of - a lack of information is also part of the problem. Globally 40%, there was a study that came out earlier this year
that said 40% of adults never have heard of climate change. Which I think is absolutely stunning. And in places like Bangladesh where you know they
could see 15% of their land wiped out by sea level rise as well at two degrees, it's even higher, I think it's around two thirds of people in
Bangladesh say they haven't heard of this.
So I think that we need to be having this conversation more often, we need to be talking about what really is causing this which is burning fossil
fuels for heat and energy for the most part, and really looking what the solutions are, 'cause they're out there, they exist, these technologies are
good, it's just a matter of pushing the economy in a greener direction.
CURNOW: OK, thank you so much for joining us, great reporting, John Sutter there.
SUTTER: Thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well for more on CNN's climate change coverage and the run up to the conference, just go to CNN.Com.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: You're still at the International Desk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: The search for the man with the broken nose and the thieves who made off with him in Denmark. Details on the brazen heist of a precious
Rodin bust.
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CURNOW: Police in Denmark need help solving a caper worthy of a movie script.
Last month two thieves managed to steal a Rodin Bust from a Copenhagen Museum in broad daylight. They grabbed the statue put it in a bag then
just simply walked away.
Well let's bring in James Radcliffe who is the Director for Recoveries for the Art Loss Register, he joins me now from London.
I've been to the Glyptoteket Museum, it's free, you can walk in and out, that's the beauty of places like that. But it also makes it vulnerable for
works there.
I mean tell us about this theft and why it's so brazen.
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[10:40:13] JAMES RADCLIFFE, DIRECTOR FOR RECOVERIES FOR ART LOSS REGISTER: Well these men seemingly were in and out of the museum in just 12 minutes
and in that time managed to take what must have been a reasonable heavy bronze off his pedestal, stash it in a paper bag and then walk out with it.
It's - it shows the vulnerability of museums and galleries to this kind of theft.
CURNOW: It shows the vulnerability to two men who there you go look like any of us walking around Denmark.
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CURNOW: I mean who steals then a bust or a valuable piece of art like this? Where does it land up?
RADCLIFFE: Well it's a very good question. I - it was a well-planned theft in that these thieves, apparently according to Police reports, went
in earlier on, a week earlier and disabled the alarm and loosened the bust so that they would be able to presumably carry out the final theft so
quickly. It shows a lot of planning.
But then the question of how to dispose of it is actually a really difficult one because obviously everyone is going to be looking for this
bust. They know what it looks like and whilst there are others out there anyone who tries to sell something that looks even vaguely like this in the
next six months, year, two years, five years, is going to come under a lot of scrutiny.
It is very difficult to shift stolen art because it is recognizable.
CURNOW: Difficult but then obviously trying to prevent thefts like this is so crucial. Where were the security during this one. I mean you said it
could have taken place between two different visits.
RADCLIFFE: Well it sounds like from what the police have said it was planned and the operation, if you can call it that was split between the
two visits.
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RADCLIFFE: From the CCTV footage we can see that it appears there was no- one else in the actual room of the gallery at the time of the theft. Which might raise some questions about the levels of security there.
CURNOW: Indeed and that is a beautiful room filled with Rodin sculptures, some of the most spectacular Rodin sculptures outside France. Just tell us
about missing masterpieces generally though. How many have been stolen and really as you mentioned are they really ever likely to be seen in public
again?
RADCLIFFE: Well I - to give you a flavor for the scale of this kind of thing at the Art Loss Register we've got nearly half a million items of
stolen artwork registered on our database. Of those we've got 100 sculptures by Rodin, well over a thousand Picasso's, there is a lot of art
being stolen out there. And it will eventually reappear a lot of it.
But the thing is that stolen art tends to disappear off the market for a very long time. Either people have to hide it because they can't find
someone to sell it to and it's too recognizable to dispose of easily.
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RADCLIFFE: Or because if they do sell it to someone it tends to end up staying with that person probably until they die. That if you buy a
picture that you like or a sculpture you tend to keep it. So no-one else is going to see it. And that means things do disappear for a very long
time.
CURNOW: James Radcliffe from the Art Loss Register, thanks for that on this brazen robbery in Copenhagen. Thank you.
And that does it for us here at the International Desk, I'm Robyn Curnow, don't go anywhere. World Sport with Alex Thomas is up next.
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