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G20 Shows Unanimous Support for 15 Percent Global Tax; COVID-19 Vaccines, Climate Change Top Agenda in Rome; Climate Talks Soon to Begin in Glasgow; Businesses Pressured to Act ahead of COP26; Baldwin Calls Fatal Incident "One in a Trillion" Event; Spain to Donate Millions of Vaccine Doses; Eastern Europe Struggles with COVID-19 Surge; Seven Soldiers Killed and Three Wounded in Mali; Fuel Shortages Put Haitian Patients' Lives at Risk; Sustainable Aviation Fuel Can Protect Environment. Aired 2-3a ET>
Aired October 31, 2021 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): -- begins world leaders moving on to Scotland.
Can COP26 really do anything to save the planet?
And Alec Baldwin, breaking his silence, talking about an on-set shooting that killed the film's cinematographer. The reason why he decided to open up to the paparazzi.
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NEWTON: It is 7 am, in Rome, where G20 leaders will soon begin their second and final day of meetings on the greatest challenges of our time, including climate change and vaccines.
In the coming hours, U.S. President Joe Biden will lead a session addressing the bottlenecks in the world supply chains. Then on Monday and Tuesday, he will be at the U.N.'s COP26 climate conference in Scotland, to urge concerted action for climate change.
U.S. officials say the president did secure one of his top priorities during Saturday's sessions. There was unanimous endorsement of a 15 percent global minimum tax.
And after meeting on the sidelines with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, they issued a joint statement, saying the Iran nuclear deal could still be saved, if that is what Iran wants. CNN's Ben Wedeman is with us from Rome.
You've been following the summit, the U.S. is taking credit for some of that G20 success, if you can say it that way, a global minimum tax. But also, a lifting of U.S. tariffs on Europe, a thawing of relations there.
How significant was the progress on those and other issues? BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, symbolically, this 15 percent global corporate tax is significant in the sense that corporations, who have been able to take advantage for years of tax havens may find it a bit more difficult.
But if you look at the total amount of money that experts expect this to raise, it is a little more modest. The OECD estimates this will bring in an additional $150 billion per year, globally, in corporate taxes.
But that is relatively small. That is, by a rough estimate, about $50 per person on the face of the Earth. So let's keep in mind, corporations and their lawyers are capable of finding all sorts of loopholes and, therefore, as the old saying goes, there is many a slip twixt cup and lip.
As far as the European tariffs, it is an easing of some of the measures imposed by the Trump administration. There will be a reduction in some of the tariffs on European exports of aluminum and steel. But the totality of those measures that the Trump administration imposed will, still, remain.
NEWTON: It's interesting the figure that the OECD put on that, right, 150 billion. I think Elon Musk, from Tesla, made that last month.
Anyhow, we need to talk about if there was any progress on COVID and those vaccinations. The stats, are still, startling. Ben, you know them as well as anyone. While the rich nations are talking about boosters, less than 5 percent of people in low income countries have even seen a vaccine.
WEDEMAN: Paula, if hot air were vaccines, the world would be completely vaccinated. The problem is that the industrialized countries continue to hold to this fetish of intellectual property rights and, therefore, the patents to the formulas of the variety of vaccines available, out there, are still being tightly held and protected.
And it appears that most leaders of the G20 are holding to those. Now the only voice of courage and vision has been from Pope Francis.
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WEDEMAN: He has clearly claimed -- clearly called for the patents to be waived and to allow the many companies that exist around the world, in the developing world, that are capable of producing vaccines, to do so.
As it is, the developed countries continue to have this patronizing attitude of, we will give you vaccines, we will gift you vaccines but we will not give you the knowledge to allow you to produce the vaccines themselves.
Lots of talk; in the end, not really much concrete action to try to save, perhaps, millions of lives in the developing world from coronavirus. Paula? NEWTON: Yes, it is a shame, that they still weren't able to get any further on that problem. Ben Wedeman, I appreciate you following those developments.
Meantime, Vladimir Putin, you may have noticed, did not travel to Rome for the summit. Instead, he participated on Saturday via videolink. The Russian leader is also skipping the COP26 conference in Scotland. CNN's Sam Kiley has more now from Moscow.
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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Vladimir Putin joined his colleagues at the G20 in Italy by video. This is how he described what he really wants to see coming out of this.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): Let me remind you that Russia was the first in the world to register a vaccine against COVID-19, Sputnik V. To date, this drug has already been approved in 70 countries of the world, with a total population of over 4 billion people, and demonstrates high safety and effectiveness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: That is essentially he wants to be able to see more Russian vaccines distributed around the world and, perhaps, be able to import more foreign vaccines, given the slow rate of takeup of his country men of their homegrown versions of the anti COVID medication.
But on top of that, he also made a plea for greater integration on energy markets, hinting at the continuing friction between Europe and Russia over what Europeans are saying are the Kremlin's efforts to strangle the supply of natural gas into Europe, at a time when prices are skyrocketing.
But on top of that, really, this is all about Putin's staying away, as he will do for the COP26 meeting coming up in Glasgow, with his focus really very, very tightly on a future meeting, sometime this year or early next year, they hope in the Kremlin, with none other than Joe Biden.
It is the meeting, the bilateral meetings with the U.S. President, really, that Vladimir Putin is all about -- Sam Kiley, CNN, Moscow.
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NEWTON: It was supposed to be a turning point for the planet. But as the COP26 climate summit prepares to get underway in Glasgow, some world leaders are casting doubt on how much can be accomplished. Here is the U.K. prime minister, Boris Johnson, on Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: Chance of stopping climate change, next week. What we could conceivably do, if everybody gets their act together, what we could do is get an agreement that means that COP26 in Glasgow is a way station that allows us to end climate change and allows us to keep alive that --
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JOHNSON: -- dream of restricting the growth to 1.5 degrees.
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NEWTON: For more on this, we bring in Phil Black, who is in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Phil, good to see you.
How close have you been following this over the last few weeks?
Boris Johnson, laying it all out there, rhetorically. It was actually the most optimistic we've heard hi in some of those interviews. He literally compared this to the collapse of the Roman Empire, if we didn't act quickly enough.
And yet, what, specifically, is he saying that he needs stakeholders to do, in terms of those sharp targets?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, he confirmed with great historical flourish, that we could get another Dark Ages if we don't fix climate change. But he also confirmed, something that we kind of already knew, that climate change will not be fixed in the next two weeks.
Therefore, the key question is, how much progress can be made?
Can momentum still be built?
Can the dreams, the hopes of the Paris Agreement be kept alive?
His mantra has been coal, cars, cash and trees. What he will be pushing for is some progress, a breakthrough in one or more of those areas. Yes, that the Paris agreement could still be, its goals could still be theoretically attainable within the timeframe that science says we have.
And as we are told, repeatedly, the clock is ticking. Paris is when the world came together and cheered in the room, because all countries promised to do what was necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, to keep global average temperature increase between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius, preferably, closer to 1.5.
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BLACK: We go into these talks at Glasgow, with all of the offerings of detail, on the table simply, being woefully insufficient to achieving that goal. Simply, it can't be done with what has been presented, so far.
So he and others will be pushing for some progress, some sort of concrete action, some breakthroughs, that mean that, as I say, in theory, those goals are still achievable, although, signs continually indicate it may already be too late. Paula?
NEWTON: Of course, we always have to talk about China and where they stand on this. They are the world's largest carbon emitter. We've spoken to the fact that Xi Jinping will not be attending in person.
Is something more expected, even though China has already laid out its targets?
BLACK: No doubt, that is the great hope. It is a truism in climate talks, you cannot fix this, without really big, bold action from China. It is responsible, for more than a quarter of global emissions. Not the highest emitter per population but, taken together, with its huge population, its rapid economic growth, that has pushed it out in front.
It has an offer, on the table, viewed by many as disappointing and insufficient. It is talking about peaking its emissions by the end of the decade, hitting carbon neutrality by 2060. But what people want to see, what other leaders want to see and are desperately pushing China to do, is to be more ambitious, to move faster, sooner and to cut those emissions and, ideally, peak at emissions within the next few years.
Xi is not coming to these talks but there has been a reported rumor overnight that he may appear via video link. That will keep some sense of hope alive because, I think, if China were to come and to make some sort of big, significant announcement of some kind, some sort of dramatic ambition, which were to be declared, it would go a long way toward building the momentum and increasing the optimism that something really meaningful can be achieved at these talks. Paula?
NEWTON: Yes, he has always tried to indicate that China's agenda is a green one. Phil Black, thank you for that, we appreciate it.
It is not just governments being urged to do more, of course. A recent report found that many private companies are falling short on cutting their carbon emissions. The 2021 State of Green Business Report projects U.S. companies, for instance, will decrease emissions by just 10 percent by 2025.
That is well short of what is needed to align with the Paris agreement. And major global companies are not doing any better. They're expected to cut emissions by only 7 percent. But experts say, reducing carbon output is just one piece of the puzzle.
It will also be crucial to address the energy needs of lower income countries, without derailing progress on emissions. According to the International Energy Agency, close to 800 million people, around the world -- remember, they don't even have access to electricity. Billions, don't have clean fuel or any fuel for cooking.
The IEA says investing in clean energy solutions for developing nations is an integral part of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
For more we are joined by the director of Columbia University's Center for Sustainable Development, economist Jeffrey Sachs.
I want to thank you for coming in on this discussion. As an economist and climate advocate, you've been at this for a long time now. I don't have to remind you and now what you've warned us about for the better part of 2 decades, is happening right now and climate change, really, is catching us in critical ways.
We are seeing it, it is pronounced and it could, soon, be even more profound. You know, I don't have to remind you, businesses say the right things.
Is there any evidence that they will, soon, do the right things?
JEFFREY SACHS, ECONOMIST AND DIRECTOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Thanks, Paula, good to be with you. Some businesses don't even say the right things.
The American Petroleum Institute, in the United States, represents Big Oil, continues to lobby against action. It is unbelievable -- ExxonMobil, Chevron, Conoco Phillips and the other oil giants, for decades now, have known how dangerous this is.
But because of greed, they have continued to resist the shift that is needed to zero carbon energy. Really, it is a shame. And even in these last days, we know senator Joe Manchin pulled out critical components of President Biden's legislation, because Manchin is called the kingmaker of the oil lobby.
So this is where the problem lies, greed, power, political corruption through campaign contributions and lobbying, it has delayed action for decades. Now, we are warmer on the planet that at any time in the last 10,000 years. It is amazing.
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NEWTON: Yes, it's a sobering point to make, as we sit here, before this conference. I know you know her work. Earlier I spoke with Harvard science historian Naomi Oreskes and she was talking about what you just pointed out, what Big Oil is saying and doing.
What is interesting, is that, in a quantitative way, she proved Big Oil was successful in shifting the blame for what they were doing, to consumers. Right?
To us?
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SACHS: We want to turn on the lights. We want the power for our appliances and that is fine. But we could do it with sunshine. We could do it with wind. We don't have to do it with oil and gas, that is wrecking the planet. That is where this Big Oil lobby has been so unbelievably destructive. I'm in Europe right now for the G20. And I have been speaking with
other energy companies, which are going big time into wind power, for example. This did not happen with the big U.S. industry.
They just lobbied, because we have a pay for play politics so they knew that they could continue, even to this week, they could continue to block action in the Senate. It is a disaster, actually.
NEWTON: When we get to Joe Biden and what he's doing over the next few hours and days, because the negotiation continues, even when he goes back to the White House, what do you think can be done?
I know you've, also, been vocal on the fact that there are solutions there. I think people are even more reticent than they may have been before, Jeffrey, because whether you're in the United States, Europe or a developing country right now, the energy crisis is really striking at the heart of people's paychecks and their livelihoods.
SACHS: We need a logical, rational plan and them you don't have this short term crisis. And it, it's not heard to make the plan. New York City just did a good thing, going to bring some hydro power from northern Quebec, down a transmission line.
This is the kind of solution, offshore wind, in the U.S. Northeast. There is so much wind in the Midwest and there is so much sunshine in the Southwest we could power the entire U.S. at low cost, with zero carbon energy, if the American Petroleum Institute and Manchin and the oil lobby would just get out of the way and help us save this planet and make the planet decent for our children and grandchildren. That is the basic point.
NEWTON: They are definitely part of the problem, to be sure. Yet we were just talking with Phil Black, our reporter, about China's position on this. You know their position well.
Are you expecting any surprises from China?
It's not just what the government says, it's what they will instruct their businesses to do.
SACHS: We should note that, per person, the U.S. emits a lot more than China. We are still at around 16 to 17 tons of carbon dioxide per American. China is around 9 tons per person. They emit more in absolute terms because of China's population; it's 4 times larger than the United States.
But per person, we are way above China. Now China has committed to get to net zero by 2060. I think that can happen by 2050 and should, for the sake of the planet, that's what I would say to Xi Jinping. Good move, good commitment but China is so good at photovoltaics, solar, wind power, high voltage, long distance transmission, electric vehicles, you can do it by 2050.
And all the major economies should do it by 2050. But China has actually made the national pledge; whereas, the U.S. has not done so yet. We need to get both countries working together and on a 2050 timeline at the latest.
And to say to the lobbies in the United States, to Joe Manchin, to other so called kingmakers, stop hurting the planet. This is dangerous for us, for everybody -- floods, forest fires, drought, heat waves. We see it everywhere. People are dying. Economies are being jolted. Crops are failing. Enough. Let's move.
NEWTON: OK. And we will see if they are listening, we will try to park the cynicism, to see if they really can get a plan of action together.
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NEWTON: Jeffrey Sachs, thanks so much for you time.
SACHS: Great to be with you as always. Thank you.
NEWTON: Trillions of gallons of water are wasted every year due to leaky pipes. It's a problem that makes climate change worse. And it's an issue that actor Matt Damon and his charity water.org are working to reverse. He sat down with Julia Chatterley to discuss.
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MATT DAMON, ACTOR AND ACTIVIST: Eight trillion gallons of water a year, are lost because of leaky pipes or through infrastructure. Think about the cost, the carbon cost of delivering that water, right?
Getting it, treating it, moving it and then suddenly, you just lose it. That's an absolute waste.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Give me that stat, again.
DAMON: Eight trillion gallons of water.
(CROSSTALK)
CHATTERLEY: Eight trillion --
DAMON: Right. So you could solve the problem --
CHATTERLEY: You could solve the problem --
DAMON: -- twice over. Yes, it would -- just with shoring that up, which is a big thing to do. But you need to be thinking that way, in terms of attacking this problem.
CHATTERLEY: I don't hear this being discussed enough.
GARY WHITE, CEO AND COFOUNDER, WATER.ORG: That's why we want to bring it to the fore when we are in Glasgow, because that 8 trillion represents 25 percent of all the water that is sourced and treated.
So it is one thing to have a carbon footprint when you derive some economic value out of it. You know, you drive to work, in your car, you make money and you provide for your family. But when you have a carbon footprint that completely has no economic
value, that leaks out, unaccounted for, that is kind of some of the low-hanging fruit I think that we can be looking at and boost that infrastructure investment from 2 percent infrastructure up higher. Because this has been overlooked for decades, if not centuries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: You will want to catch the full interview, Monday, on "FIRST MOVE WITH JULIA CHATTERLEY." That's 1:00 pm in London, 9:00 pm Hong Kong time.
And a programming note, we will have, of course, extensive coverage of the COP26 climate change conference from November 1st to the 12th. Tune into CNN each day for that and for all the latest climate news and COP26 news. Head to cnn.com/climate.
Coming up, how the aviation industry is trying to tackle the emissions crisis.
Plus an emotional message from Alec Baldwin. He speaks about the fatal shooting on the set of his latest film and the changes that he wants to see following the tragedy.
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NEWTON: Alec Baldwin says the fatal incident on the site of his latest film was a "one in a trillion" event. The actor made his first on-camera comments on Saturday since the prop gun he discharged killed the movie's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin remembered her as his good friend on a tight-knit crew. He and his family were in Vermont, when the paparazzi tracked them down.
[02:25:00]
NEWTON: And a visibly upset Baldwin decided to take their questions.
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ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: What do you want to know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Alec, what's the current state of what's going on with the case?
BALDWIN: I'm not allowed to make any comments because it's an ongoing investigation. I've been ordered by the sheriff's department in Santa Fe, I can't answer any questions about the investigation. I can't.
It's an active investigation in terms of number one -- she was my friend. She was my friend. The day I arrived in Santa Fe to start shooting, I took her to dinner with Joel, the director. We were a very, very -- excuse me -- we were a very, very, you know, well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened.
Now I've been told multiple times, don't make any comments about the ongoing investigation and I can't. I can't. I can't. That's it.
What other questions do you have other than that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You met with the -- I forget her name. You met with her family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Halyna. Her name is Halyna.
BALDWIN: Yes. I met with her husband --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you're spending this much time waiting for us, you should know her name.
BALDWIN: You don't know her name.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her name is Halyna.
BALDWIN: Halyna Hutchins. I met with her husband Matthew and her son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did that meeting go?
BALDWIN: I wouldn't know how to categorize it. They're mortified --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys -- you know what. No details.
BALDWIN: Do me a favor?
I'm going to answer the question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I appreciate that he was probably very upset.
BALDWIN: The guy is overwhelmed with grief. This is something that, you know, there are incidental accidents on film sets from time to time but nothing like this.
This is a one in a trillion. It's a one in a trillion death and so he is in shock. He has a 9-year-old son.
We are, you know, in constant contact with him because we're very worried about his family and his kid. As I said, we're eagerly awaiting for the sheriff's department to tell us what their investigation has yielded.
What else do you want?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you ever work on another film set that involves firearms of that nature?
BALDWIN: I couldn't answer that question. I have no sentiment. I do know that an ongoing effort to limit the use of firearms on film sets is something I'm extremely interested in -- but remember something I think is important. That is how many bullets have been fired in films and TV shows in the last 75 years? This is America. How many bullets have gone off in movies?
Firearms on film sets. It's something I'm extremely interested in.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: But remember something that I think is important. That is how many dope bullets have been fired in films and TV shows in the last 75 years?
This is America. How many bullets have gone off in movies and on TV shows for last 75 years.
(INAUDIBLE) -- so what has to happen now is we have to realize that when it does go wrong and it's this horrible catastrophic thing, some new measures have to take place. Rubber guns. Plastic guns. No live -- no real (INAUDIBLE) that's not for me to decide. It's urgent. It's urgent that you understand. I'm not an expert in this field.
So whatever other people decide is the best way to go in terms of protecting people's safety on film sets. I'm all in favor of I. I will walk with them in any way that I can.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any further projects. Any in the works at the moment or is everything on hold for you?
BALDWIN: No. No. That's irrelevant to what we're talking about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's fair enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think production will start up again on it.
BALDWIN: No, I doubt it.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why Vermont, Alec.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's because --
BALDWIN: No, no. That's a push -- that's fine. Yes, that's fine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That will be all, OK.
BALDWIN: So just do me a favor if you don't mind?
My kids are in the car crying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because you guys are following and they know.
BALDWIN: And all I want to do -- as a courtesy to you, I came to talk. I'm not allowed to comment on the investigation. I talk to the cops every day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They know where you are? BALDWIN: I'm cooperating with them. My point is that I'm just asking we sat down as a courtesy now to talk to you. Now please would you just stop following us. Just leave us alone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just go home.
BALDWIN: We gave you everything we can possibly give you, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Thank you. Condolences. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Alec Baldwin and his wife, clearly upset.
In the meantime, police in New Mexico have more questions for the film's armorer. You see her there. And the Santa Fe County sheriff there, wanting to know more about the rounds discovered and safety measures on set.
The armorer's attorney says she fought for more training, more days to maintain weapons and to prepare for gunfire on set, insisting she was overruled by producers and her department.
Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, countries across Eastern Europe, paying a heavy toll as COVID ravages much of the region and health care systems struggle to keep up.
Plus, we hear from families in Brazil, who lost loved ones to COVID-19 and are now fighting to hold the government responsible.
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NEWTON: Beginning in November, Cuba will open up to those who've had the COVID shot. Now the Cuban public health ministry says, starting November 7th, fully vaccinated travelers will not have to quarantine upon entering the country.
It will also drop PCR testing requirements beginning November 15th. But all travelers aged 12 and over will still have to present proof of vaccination.
And Spain says it plans to donate millions of vaccine doses in the coming months. Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted on Saturday, that his country will have donated some 50 million doses by next March. This comes amid a rise in COVID cases and deaths across Europe.
Now much of Eastern Europe is paying a high price over vaccine hesitancy. While there is not a shortage of shots in most Eastern European countries, reluctance has been widespread.
And with few following mitigation measures, surging COVID cases are overwhelming the region.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON (voice-over): An ambulance arrives at a Moscow hospital. Essential workers are still allowed on the job in Russia but much of the rest of the workforce, right across the country, is in lockdown, until at least November 7th.
It's part of a government plan to try and cut down on the number of new COVID-19 cases that are overwhelming hospitals and logging record high daily death tolls.
Shops are closed except for pharmacies and supermarkets. Restaurants in Moscow are open only for delivery or take out but it's not a stay- at-home order. The city's streets are still busy.
Some people are leaving town to take advantage of time off. One resident says she thinks the new measures are not tough enough to make a difference and old measures are not always being followed.
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NATALIA STEPANENKO, MOSCOW RESIDENT (through translator): The restrictions certainly make sense. But they don't work properly because there are still so many people. There are lots of people in the public transport and the metro. They don't wear masks. And it's an issue.
NEWTON (voice-over): That issue, of not following coronavirus guidelines, is one that is also derailing health plans in many Eastern European countries.
In Ukraine, where COVID-19 deaths are also skyrocketing, police are cracking down on a booming black market of fake COVID-19 vaccine and test documents. Authorities recently released videos of raids of suspected criminal activity, including one in a doctor's office.
Ukraine's deputy interior minister says the country is, quote, "close to drowning" in forged certificates.
The cards are in high demand, especially since the country added new measures for travel. Proof of vaccination or a negative test is required to board planes, trains and long distance buses. But only 16.5 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.
Latvia is also undergoing a surge of infections. One hospital official says, in some places, they don't have enough medical staff to treat the rising number of COVID-19 patients.
And in hardhit Romania, hospitals morgues are filling up as well.
[02:35:00] NEWTON (voice-over): One medical examiner says all the victims here are unvaccinated and, in some cases, entire families have been killed by the virus.
He says vaccine reluctance and public attitudes have to change in order to stop spreading infections and lower the rising body counts, inundating the region.
CLAUDIU IONITA, AUTOPSIST (through translator): The vaccine does not mean that you can have a coffee with your friends or go to a concert, stuff that we used to do before. The vaccine means that you will not end up here. This is the most important message.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And for more now on the COVID-19 situation in Russia, I am joined by Andrei Kolesnikov. He's a senior fellow and chair at the Carnegie Moscow Center. He joins me live now from Istanbul, Turkey.
Good to see you on. I know this must be a concerning time in Russia. First, I want to talk to you about the scope of the problem. It seems that even the government now has conceded that they got it wrong.
I think what is most concerning is that, although the daily deaths are a record, it still seems to be that they are undercounting, that the scope of the suffering across Russia has yet to be uncovered.
ANDREI KOLESNIKOV, CHAIR AND SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE MOSCOW CENTER: Yes, it's a problem. It's also a problem of the trust toward authorities. I mean, the quality of statistics, for instance.
But the trend is very concerning. The mortality rate is quite high. And it is one more reason for modest trust toward the government efforts and toward government as such. So all around it's a problem of trust, including such a low rate of vaccination among Russians.
NEWTON: The irony is that, even by objective research and measures and studies, that Sputnik vaccine is a good one. It is solid. And Vladimir Putin is right when he says that it was one of the first to be introduced into the world. People won't take it.
What do you think would have changed things?
And what can change things now?
Because the vaccine is available.
KOLESNIKOV: Yes, this is really a big problem. It would be a psychological problem for a lot of people. And again, if we return to the topic of trust, people are trusting the government, Putin, the flag symbolically.
But when we talk about everyday life, people don't trust any initiatives coming from the top. Today or yesterday, Putin said during the G20 session, that Western countries and Russia must find a way to mutual recognition of the vaccines. This is a step that indicates that he is very -- he is ready to do
some steps in order to make a booster for this rate of vaccination. And mutual recognition can contribute to it because there are a lot of people who want to be vaccinated by Western vaccines.
They trust more to Western health care system. The share of these kinds of people is not so high. But at the same time, it could really help people to understand that they must be vaccinated.
NEWTON: Unfortunately, the European regulator likely won't get to that for several months.
I don't have a lot of time left. But before you go, what do you want people to know about the scope of the suffering throughout Russia right now?
KOLESNIKOV: You know, the rate of -- you mean suffering, in what sense, suffering in a psychological sense or in a sense of --
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: Both, really. I know the further you move away from Moscow, people -- there's attention on certain things in Moscow. You go to other hospitals in different regions and they will be overwhelmed. Right?
No one will really know what is going on in those regions.
KOLESNIKOV: Yes, this is not Norway or Denmark. People are not so disciplined. They are at, let's say, two dimensions of the problem, two universes of the problem. The first universe is something inside the health care system, where people are really suffering.
And the second universe is everyday life; for instance, if you will enter Moscow's metro, you will not see a lot of people with masks even. So this is maybe a Russian fatality. I'm not trying to exaggerate the psychological side of the problem.
[02:40:00]
KOLESNIKOV: But at the same time, this is a tendency in attitudes toward avaricy (ph) which is coming from the very top, as I said. And maybe because of that, we have some problems with health care discipline around average Russians.
NEWTON: All right. We will wait to see if the situation improves, now that much of the country is trying at least some kind of mitigation. Thanks so much for joining us. I appreciate it.
KOLESNIKOV: Thank you.
NEWTON: In Brazil, families of COVID-19 victims are demanding justice against president Jair Bolsonaro. The country has the second highest death toll in the world. And many blame Bolsonaro's spread of misinformation. CNN's Isa Soares speaks to two families, who lost loved ones to the virus. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Time, they say, heals all wounds. Almost two years since Marcio (ph) lost his 25-year-old son, Hugo (ph), to COVID-19, this immeasurable pain of grief and loss continues to bring him to his knees. His son, one soul in a sea of more than 600,000 lives lost in Brazil.
MARCIO (PH), FATHER OF COVID-19 VICTIM (from captions): When I tell my son's story, when I share my pain, which is so tough, I do it to save lives.
SOARES (voice-over): Marcio's (ph) indignation pushed him to seek accountability and justice.
MARCIO (PH) (from captions): I think we deserve an apology. We deserve an apology from the highest authority in the state.
SOARES (voice-over): His testimony to Brazil's parliamentary commission inquiry into the Brazilian government's COVID-19 response, one of many harrowing and emotional witness statements from the families of COVID victims.
MARCIO (PH) (from captions): I did something that today I know I shouldn't have done, but a desperate father doesn't measure the consequences.
SOARES (voice-over): With Marcio (ph) recounting the last time he saw his son, a dance teacher, alive.
MARCIO (PH) (from captions): I went to the ICU. I opened the door and I kept signaling to him, "Hugo, Hugo, your dad is here. Don't worry, your dad is here."
SOARES (voice-over): But Hugo, who Marcio (ph) says had no underlying health conditions, lost his battle to the virus after being in the ICU for weeks.
MARCIO (PH) (from captions): When the president decides not to wear a mask, when he says he won't be vaccinated, he's causing Brazilians deaths. This denialism has killed many Brazilians.
SOARES (voice-over): A parliamentary commission has blamed President Jair Bolsonaro directly, recommending he be charged with crimes against humanity, as well as other charges for reckless leadership.
The explosive report says Bolsonaro was guided by an unfounded belief in the theory of herd immunity by natural infection. Bolsonaro has dismissed the parliamentary report as politically motivated and having, quote, "no credibility."
JAIR BOLSONARO, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (from captions): We know that we are guilty of absolutely nothing. We know that we did the right thing from the first moment.
SOARES (voice-over): Tell that to 20-year-old Jovana (ph) -- JOVANA (PH), DAUGHTER OF COVID-19 VICTIMS (from captions): It was a
14-day difference between my dad and my mom.
SOARES (voice-over): -- who lost both her parents to COVID-19.
JOVANA (PH) (from captions): In some ways there was bad management, so yes, I also blame the government.
SOARES (voice-over): Still, the president says he's not to blame and continues to refused to be vaccinated.
To the victims' families, it feels like rubbing salt in their already deep wounds, an unimaginable grief that even time can't heal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Our thanks to Isa Soares.
Coming up on CNN, a growing crisis in Haiti. Hospitals are running out of critically needed fuel, putting patients' lives at risk. That story after the break.
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NEWTON (voice-over): The largest nationwide protests yet against the military takeover in Sudan, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across the country Saturday, with banners and chanting anti coup slogans. This was the scene in the capital, Khartoum.
Protesters want the military to restore civilian leadership and stop interfering with the government. They are also calling for Sudan's top general to resign. A civilian doctors' group says at least 13 people have been killed and 140 injured since the military takeover Monday.
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NEWTON: Mali's armed forces say, seven soldiers have been killed and three wounded in what they're calling terrorist attacks. Two separate incidents took place, according to officials but they have not said who is responsible.
An ambush, killing 2 soldiers and injured 3 others in a village, north of the capital, Bamako. Five other soldiers, died, when the vehicle hit an improvised explosive advice near the town of Segou.
Hospitals, in Haiti, are on the verge of collapse. Fuel is scarce, as gangs block access to fuel terminals, as they demand the resignation of the country's prime minister. The risk of kidnapping, causing a shortage of medical staff but it is not just the hospitals feeling the pain. CNN's Matt Rivers, reporting, from Port-au-Prince.
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MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spot protests across Port-au-Prince, burning tires below sending Black smoke into the sky. The country is in crisis once again, in part fueled by a lack of fuel.
A crushing shortage of gasoline has crippled the capital city. Here, taxi drivers are protesting, arguing with police outside of a gas station with no gas.
"We don't have a government," this man says. "If we don't demand change, who will."
Tires set on fire and debris thrown into the street are desperate attempts to cause enough chaos that the governor tries to fix the problem. But it won't be easy. Not only is the government so broke it often can't buy enough fuel but when some arrives, it can't get delivered.
The vast majority of fuel is imported at these two locations but gangs in Port-au-Prince are so powerful they have near complete control over this crucial stretch of highway, which means they control the flow of fuel into the capital.
A gas retailer, identity hidden due to security concerns, told us what happens if you try and drive a tanker truck in to pick up fuel.
RIVERS (on camera): So I might get kidnapped.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
RIVERS: I might get shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. If you don't stop.
RIVERS: I might get killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
RIVERS: Or at the very least, I'm going to have to pay an exorbitant bribe to get past.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, of course.
RIVERS (voice-over): Haiti's government and law enforcement are either unwilling or unable to secure a flow of fuel from the ports.
RIVERS (on camera): But not having enough fuel doesn't just mean you can't use your motorbike. Consider this: here in Port-au-Prince, the electricity grid is not reliable.
So let's say you own a small store and you sell cold drinks. In order to keep that refrigerator running, you need to use a generator. And of the fuel going into that generator is way more expensive than it was before, that means you need to charge your customers more for those cold drinks.
Not having enough fuel makes all kinds of things more expensive and that's brutal in a country already dealing with so much poverty.
Because you don't have gasoline, do you think that that is risking the lives of some of your patients, because they can't get the treatment that they need?
KEDNER PIERRE, COUNTY DIRECTOR, INNOVATING HEALTH INTERNATIONAL: Yes. Of course. Of course. This is a problem for us.
RIVERS (voice-over): Kedner Pierre runs Haiti's largest cancer treatment center at Innovating Health International. He showed us this x-ray machine, like other equipment here, sitting idle, because there's not enough gas to run the facility's generator full-time.
In another darkened room nearby, we use our phone's flashlight to see a bank of refrigerators, with medicine for chemotherapy, all turned off.
[02:50:00]
RIVERS (on camera): So you put ice in there to keep this cold, because you can't -- You don't have enough gas --
PIERRE: No. I don't have enough gas.
RIVERS: -- to run a generator to keep these refrigerators on.
RIVERS (voice-over): This clinic is still treating patients, something that is barely happening inside the empty hallways of Hospital de la Paix. Normally packed with patients, just a few are inside now. Most days, only a handful of doctors make it to work, either because there's no gas or because they fear being kidnapped by gangs.
Ketia Asteil's (ph) son almost died during an asthma attack overnight. She says, "The doctor was using his flashlight on his phone to put my son on oxygen, because there is no electricity. It's so bad, I almost lost him."
RIVERS (on camera): Normally, all of those cribs would be filled with sick kids but the hospital is turning away nearly every single patient that comes here, because right now, there's simply not enough doctors, nurses or electricity to take care of them. That means that one of Haiti's largest hospitals is essentially not functioning.
RIVERS (voice-over): "The doctors are trying," she says, "but they cannot do anything. They have no help. Only God can help at this point." Perhaps God and gasoline -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
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NEWTON: Still to come, on CNN, how sustainable aviation fuel can reduce future aviation emissions and, protect the environment, for years to come. Stay with us.
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NEWTON: As COP26 is set to begin, the E.U. commits to an ambitious goal to become climate neutral by 2050. One piece of the puzzle is to reduce aviation emissions. CNN's Anna Stewart showing us how the air transportation industry could do just that by using a special type of fuel.
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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cooking oil, food waste, even your old clothing, it could all be used to fly a plane and combat climate change.
Sustainable aviation fuels or SAFs are fuels made from renewable energy sources and could potentially cut carbon emissions from aviation by up to 80 percent.
STEWART: The E.U. has made some ambitious proposals for aviation, as part of its green deal. From 2025, planes taking off from E.U. airports would have to use a blend of at least 2 percent sustainable aviation fuel, rising to 5 percent in 2030 and 63 percent by 2050. The problem is, right now, SAF only accounts for 0.1 percent of the aviation fuel market.
STEWART (voice-over): Energy giant Shell is hoping to change that. It plans to start producing around 2 million tons of SAF per year, by 2025. It is collaborating with British plane engine maker, Rolls- Royce. They're pushing for jets to fill up on 100 percent SAF. For now, regulators limit planes to a 50 percent blend, with conventional jet fuel.
ANNA MASCOLO, SHELL GLOBAL AVIATION PRESIDENT: At least 10 percent of our sales, by 2030, will be SAF. Now that is a scale-up from the current production. So by 2025, Shell, alone, will produce 10 times more than what all the different producers are producing today.
Will it be enough?
No, it won't be.
STEWART: So is it policy makers?
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STEWART: Is it regulators?
What needs to happen to get more SAF being made and more airlines using it? STEIN: Mostly, it is about market conditions. So right now, fossil fuel is pretty cheap. Without any intervention by government, airlines, quite rightly, will carry on using the cheapest source of fuel, which is fossil based fuel.
SAFs right now are not as cheap as fossil fuels. In fact, right now, they're quite expensive. And so we have to have some regulation intervention in order to encourage the ramp-up of SAFs.
STEWART: Market forces won't be enough?
STEIN: Market forces won't be enough.
STEWART (voice-over): In Belgium, ArcelorMittal is teaming up with LanzaTech to convert waste from its steel mills into ethanol. It is building a high tech plant, using a different technology, that has potential to increase SAF production.
BJORN HEIJSTRA, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR EUROPE, LANZATECH: What we are doing here, at this plant, is carbon cycling. The carbon has had a primary use in the steel mill and, with this facility, here, we can ferment the carbon into a secondary use.
This process is unique. We use gases into alcohol but still a fermentation but it is a biocatalyst that does this. It's not a yeast, it's a bacteria and the bacteria can consume carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases and convert these into ethanol.
STEWART (voice-over): Three years, in the making the plant is financially backed by European and state authorities. It is due to be operational from 2022 and, promises to deliver 64,000 tons of ethanol, per year. That could be used for many sectors, from fragrances and detergents to sustainable aviation fuels.
WIM VAN DER STRICHT, CTO TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY, ARCELORMITTAL: We used to be steel makers. We make steel and now we're producing ethanol using the technology of LanzaTech. And there, we confront a lot of synergies. So the waste of one industry, is the fistek (ph) of the other. All sectors have to look into this and they have to collaborate to say one and one is three and not one and one is two in that case. They can gain a lot by working together.
STEWART (voice-over): Powering up the green energy transitions and tackling aviation pollution, it's a team effort for European business leaders.
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NEWTON: Thanks to Anna Stewart there.
And a dazzling light show in parts of the world this weekend, is making the sky, I kid you not, glow. The fireworks started in the middle of our solar system. NASA released video of the exact moment a large flare exploded on the sun.
It ejected charged particles, colliding with gases in the Earth's atmosphere, creating spectacular curtains of colored light, otherwise known as the Aurora borealis.
It's mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, where the Northern Lights are being seen, across parts of the U.S., Canada and Europe.
One viewer tweeted, "You will not believe the scene here. Unreal."
I am Paula Newton, I want to thank you for your company, Kim Brunhuber, picks things, up here on CNN NEWSROOM.
