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World Leaders Gather In Glasgow For COP26 Meetings; Refugees Flee Erosion And Storm Surges In Senegal; May Feared Trapped After Building Collapse In Nigeria; COVID Case Forces Shanghai Disneyland Into Lockdown. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired November 02, 2021 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Wherever you are around the world, thank you for joining us, I'm John Vause.
Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, urgent words and big promises at COP26. World leaders talk to the extreme threat from the climate crisis. India committed to net zero emissions and more than 100 countries promised to end deforestation.
Selling little girls to old man, the desperate and heartbreaking choice facing families amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
And what could be the unhappiest place on earth after just one woman tested positive, 30,000 visitors to Shanghai Disney locked inside for hours and tested. All came back negative.
Well, at the Glasgow Summit on Climate Change, world leaders have talked in very stark and blunt terms about the threat facing our planet and humanity.
The U.N. Secretary General pointed to melting glaciers, extreme weather events, overheating oceans and rising sea levels and warned, we are digging our own graves.
While the tone and language is notable for reflecting the urgency of the crisis, what is more important is agreement on what to do and how to do it. And the first significant announcement on that expected Wednesday to begin in just a few hours from now.
According to the British government, more than 100 world leaders representing over 85 percent of the world's forests will commit to ending and reversing deforestation and land degradation within eight years.
Meantime, Downing Street defending the Prime Minister's decision to return to London by private jet, instead of taking the train which is more environmentally friendly.
Spokesperson said Boris Johnson's plane is among the most carbon efficient flying today. Mr. Johnson and the U.S. President Joe Biden were among the leaders who spoke on day one of the summit, urging immediate action on climate change.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Glasgow must be the kickoff of a decade -- a decade of ambition and innovation to preserve our shared future.
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): That's my clear key, in the decade of action and the decade we are living in now to be more ambitious nationally, but to find instruments globally.
ANTONIO GUTERRES, SECRETARY GENERAL, U.N.: Either we stop it or it stops us.
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VAUSE: CNN's Max Foster has more now on the start of the Climate Summit.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: World leaders are bumping wrists and rubbing shoulders in the Scottish city of Glasgow. But success here will mean difficult and painful compromise if they're to agree a deal to curb global greenhouse gas emissions.
The host British Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened the COP26 Climate Summit with a stark message, there's no time to lose.
BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: It's one minute to midnight on that doomsday clock, and we need to act now. If we don't get serious about climate change today, it will be too late for our children to do so tomorrow.
FOSTER: The nations represented here have been given an ultimatum, agree and execute concrete measures to stop global temperatures rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius or face grave consequences.
GUTERRES: Enough of killing ourselves with carbon. Enough of treating nature like a toilet. Enough of burning and drilling and mining our way deeper. We are digging our own graves.
FOSTER: After years of failing to tackle global warming, climate campaigners calling for change in Glasgow are angry and skeptical.
Some asking whether the promises made here will be hot air. U.S. President Joe Biden pledged America one of the world's biggest carbon emitters would lead the way.
BIDEN: We'll demonstrate to the world, the United States is not only back at the table but hopefully leading by the power of our example. That's why my administration is working overtime to show that our climate commitment is action, not words.
FOSTER: This is the moment of truth. But expectations are low and some key global figures are absent.
The President of China, the world's biggest carbon emitter sent only a written statement, saying "His country would rein in the irrational development of energy-intensive and high emission projects".
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NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): By 2017, India will achieve the target of net zero.
FOSTER: A sobering wakeup call came from the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said 2070 is India's target to reach zero carbon emissions. That's decades later than other polluters, pointing to how difficult the process would be for developing nations.
The first full day closed with a royal reception. The Queen seen here at home in Windsor didn't attend on instruction from her doctors sending this video message.
ELIZABETH ALEXANDRA MARY WINDSOR, QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: I for one hope that this conference will be one of those rare occasions where everyone will have the chance to rise above the politics of the moment and achieve true statesmanship.
FOSTER: It's billed as the last big chance to address the climate crisis where the leaders will meet the challenge though is yet to be seen.
Max Foster, CNN, Edinburgh, Scotland.
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VAUSE: Live now to CNN's Phil Black following developments for us at this very early hour there in Edinburgh.
Phil, we know about this agreement, it was announced by the British government that there will be this formal announcement to end deforestation. What is important here is that Brazil is among the signatories here, what are -- what are the details?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it sounds quite significant. Substantial, really, John. So, more than a hundred countries are responsible for some 85 percent of the world's forests will commit to ending and reversing deforestation by the end of the decade.
This is significant because these forests are carbon sinks, they literally suck the carbon out of the atmosphere. So, in a global sense, they're important.
Also, for a lot of those countries, they're going to be increasingly important as they move forward on their action plans to reduce their emissions and hit carbon neutrality.
That calculation about neutrality will come down quite significantly, not just to what they are putting out into the atmosphere around the middle of the century. But crucially, what they are pulling out as well. So, for all of these reasons, it's pretty important.
And also, at a conference, where we already know the big ambition is going to fall short. The individual commitments from other countries do not add up to what is required by the science in order to get a hold of -- in order to really get a hold of climate change.
These sorts of individual, more targeted agreements, big multilateral agreements, they are very important in terms of maintaining a sense of momentum, and achievement that can hopefully result in greater urgency and more ambition in the very near future, John.
VAUSE: Phil, thank you, Phil Black live for us there in Edinburgh. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Michael Mann is distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University. His most recent book is The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet.
Michael, welcome back. It's good to have you with us.
MICHAEL MANN, PROFESSOR OF ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE, PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY: Thanks. It's good to be with you.
VAUSE: OK, so many of the speeches from the world leaders on this day -- on this first day rather, focused on future generations, our children, their children. Here's the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
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JOHNSON: If we fail, they will not forgive us. They will know that Glasgow was the historic turning point when history failed to turn. They will judge us with bitterness and with a resentment that eclipses any of the climate activists of today, and they will be right.
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VAUSE: You know, what happens, what comes out of this conference is obviously key. But overall, would you say the tone and the language at least has shifted to reflect the urgency of the crisis?
MANN: I would say so. I frankly found that remarkable language to hear from Boris Johnson, who would have guessed a couple years ago that he would be so strident in the way that he characterizes the climate crisis. And I think you're exactly right. I think the Youth Climate Movement, Youth Climate protesters like Greta Thunberg, and literally millions of children around the world who have demonstrated on the streets to raise awareness about climate change, it has shifted the conversation and we see that in the tone that has been set. Now, what we have to see is if the actions measure up with the words.
VAUSE: On day one, India announced net zero carbon emissions by 2070. That came as a bit of a surprise because just a few days ago, India's Environment Minister dismissed the idea of net zero.
Critics though say 50 years is too much of a long timeline. Is this a case of don't let the great be the enemy of the good because at least India's made the announcement?
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MANN: I think that's right. And I also think that there's some haggling going on here. There's politics going on here. Who would have guessed?
You know, it's essential that the developed world, that the major industrial economies of the world, those of us who created this problem in the first place, need to provide funding and resources to the developing world to the Global South, so that they can afford to develop their economies in a way that doesn't mortgage the planet. We need them to skip the fossil fuel stage of their economy. We need them to leapfrog directly to clean energy, to renewable energy.
And to do that, they're going to need financing, and they're going to need assistance. And I think that India and other countries right now in these negotiations are trying to ensure that the wealthiest countries of the world do pony up.
You know, we've heard the number $100 billion a year in assistance is probably necessary, if that's going to happen, if we're going to help these developing economies skip the fossil fuel stage.
And so, I think that's what this is about.
VAUSE: Modi was pushing for a trillion dollars overall from those wealthier nations, which seems about right.
Unless there's a dramatic cut in carbon emissions, we're heading for an increase to close to three degrees Celsius 2.7 degrees, which would mean a rise in sea levels that would leave downtown Durban in South Africa underwater, Buckingham Palace could see water basically up to its first floor, if you look at this what possible scenario is. And the famous Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, that would be -- actually, all totally underwater and submerged and gone.
But many smaller island nations are facing an almost total loss of land, that then this climate summit, the decisions made here will most likely determine if they continue to exist. Here's the prime minister of Barbados, listen to this.
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MIA MOTTLEY, BARBADOS PRIME MINISTER: Two degrees? Yes, S.G. is a death sentence for the people of Antigua and Barbuda, for the people of the Maldives, for the people of Dominica and Fiji, for the people of Kenya and Mozambique and yes, for the people of Samoa and Barbados. We do not want that dreaded death sentence.
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VAUSE: There seems to be an attitude among some world leaders that you know, when it comes to 1.5 degrees, near enough is good enough. But clearly for other nations, it's all about their existence, and anything over 1.5 degrees really means they won't be there. MANN: Yes, that's right. I mean, you know, we talk about you know, what constitutes dangerous climate change is that 1.5 degrees Celsius, is it two degrees Celsius, we've warned the planet 1.2 degrees Celsius at this point, we've got a few tenths to go before we hit 1.5.
But if you're Puerto Rico, if you're the western states, California in the western U.S., if you're Australia, if you're any of these locations around the world that have been subject to the devastating impact of climate change in the form of unprecedented extreme weather events, heat waves, wildfires, floods, superstorms, dangerous climate change has arrived.
And so, at this point, it's a matter of how bad we're willing to let it get and for these low-lying island nations, any additional warming literally submerges them.
VAUSE: In terms of real action, what are you looking for from these -- from these countries, from these world leaders to which would essentially make this COP26 a success?
MANN: Yes, we need a commitment to end any new funding of fossil fuel infrastructure. The International Energy Agency, by no means a cheerleader for the renewable energy industry, they've been quite conservative when it comes to their projections of renewable energy.
And yet, they've said that there can be no new fossil fuel infrastructure if we are to hold the warming of the planet below that dangerous 1.5 degree Celsius.
And so, that means that when you have countries like the United States, the E.U., the U.K. making these bold pledges to lower carbon emissions, you know, by 50 percent or more within this decade, well, you know, that's fine. Those are the commitments that we need.
But if you're still funding new oil and gas pipelines and you're still investing in overseas coal, that's fundamentally inconsistent with this pledge.
VAUSE: Michael, thank you for being with us. We really appreciate it.
MANN: Thank you.
VAUSE: For many places, climate change is already having a devastating impact. With each passing day, the people of St. Louis Senegal are watching as rising sea levels damage or destroy their homes and historic buildings erode. Many there are already climate change refugees.
Here's CNN Fred Pleitgen reporting from the city known as the Venice of Africa.
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FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The fisherman's lives have always been tough here in Saint-Louis in Northern Senegal, fighting for survival on the harsh Atlantic Ocean.
Now, because of climate change, the sea that has already provided for their livelihood is destroying their existence.
Shik Zar (PH) and his family live in what's left of their house half destroyed by a storm surge knowing full well the rest of the building could be washed away anytime.
We don't have anywhere to go, he says. If we had the means, we would move where we are living is not safe, we are powerless.
Because of its geography, Saint-Louis is known as the Venice of Africa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, once the capital of Senegal now facing attrition due to the global climate emergency as erosion takes its toll on the historic buildings and the people dwelling in them.
Fishing is a profession that spans generations here in Saint- Louis but thousands of fishermen and their families have already been displaced by global warming, as rising sea levels have destroyed many houses here on the coastline.
There is nothing left of where fishermen Abdula Eterei's (PH) house once stood. He says many who lost their homes at the come climate refugees.
There are a lot of young people who have already fled to Spain because they are homeless, he says. They have lost their jobs, many of them are going.
Others have had to move to this tent camp miles away from the ocean, living in poverty with little hope for improvement.
25-year-old Khali Fowl (PH) says the situation is unbearable. We are really tired, she says, there is nothing here. You see, I'm washing my clothes now because I didn't have any soap before. That's why I'm doing it now. Really, we are dying.
Rising sea levels are a threat to coastal areas around the world already causing an increase in severe flash flooding and storm surges like in the New York and New Jersey area after Hurricane Ida in September.
The world needs to act fast or risk having to completely abandon some coastal regions in the future, especially in the U.S. says climate scientists Anders Levermann.
ANDERS LEVERMANN, POTSDAM INSTITUTE FOR CLIMATE IMPACT RESEARCH: The entire East Coast of the U.S. because of changes in the ocean currents, sea level is rising twice as fast the East Coast of the U.S. then globally.
PLEITGEN: What is it dangerous projection for the world is already grim reality here in Senegal, where the ocean that has defined the lives in this community for so long is now drifting them into an uncertain future.
Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Saint-Louis, Senegal.
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VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, Nigerian rescue workers searching through the rubble after a residential building collapses in an upscale neighborhood in Lagos will have the race to save lives in a moment.
Also, the WHO warning of dark days ahead as the pandemic claims a staggering number of lives around the world. We'll have the very latest on the coronavirus after a short break.
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VAUSE: Rescuers are up against the clock in Nigeria as they search for survivors, 14 hours after a building collapsed in Lagos. At least three people have reportedly been saved but many more are feared trapped (INAUDIBLE) 22-storey high-rise, which was under construction. All locals say authorities were slow to arrive.
The government says an investigation into the cause of the collapse is ongoing. But as CNN Stephanie Busari reports, incidents like this are becoming all too common in Nigeria.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So bad. So bad.
STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN SUPERVISING EDITOR, AFRICA (voice over): Anger and confusion in Lagos' affluent Ikoyi neighborhood. After luxury apartment building under construction for the past two years collapsed, turning 22-storeys into a heap of concrete rubble, trapping an unknown number of people beneath the wreckage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've waited like four to five hours now.
BUSARI: Locals upset with what they say was a slow response by authorities digging into rubble by hand to find survivors. Telling CNN they pulled at least three people from the rubble before rescue teams arrived.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency says it activated its emergency response plan sending excavation equipment to the scene.
The Nigerian Red Cross now onsite assisting authorities and rescue teams in the search for more survivors. But so far, only the death toll is rising. but authorities say they aren't giving up hope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For now, the rescue mission is on and all hands are on deck. We are not leaving until we get to ground zero.
BUSARI: Building collapses in Nigeria have increased in recent years, often due to lack of adherence to regulatory controls, poor knowledge of construction and substandard building materials, the cause of this incident so far unknown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The technical results, the site engineers, the government engineers will now meet and find out what was the cause.
But for now, what we're after is to rescue lives that are there.
BUSARI (voice over): It's been several hours since this building collapsed in Lagos, trapping many people underneath. Those numbers still unconfirmed. Rescue efforts ongoing but looking increasingly unlikely that there will be survivors found in this rubble.
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VAUSE: The coronavirus pandemic may be winding down but the latest numbers reflect the huge toll it's taken worldwide.
Johns Hopkins University reports the world has now surpassed five million COVID related deaths. The World Health Organization says new cases and deaths are increasing to rise for the first time in two months.
The U.S. government is preparing to publish an all new mandate that all private businesses with more than 100 employees require full vaccination or weekly testing. It makes good on a policy President Joe Biden announced back in September.
Austria is doing something similar with rising cases in the workplace. The majority of workers in Austria must be fully vaccinated. Show recent negative COVID test or proof of recovery.
While many countries are learning to live with COVID, China is not taking those chances. On Sunday, just one confirmed COVID case forced Shanghai Disney into a snap lockdown. All part of a zero-tolerance strategy against the coronavirus and CNN's David Culver has details.
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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Crowds dancing at Disneyland on Sunday evening to celebrate Halloween Shanghai style, but just a few hours later, a COVID fright, forcing the resort into temporary lockdown.
The scene is a bit scary, you could hear one man narrating on social media. A large team of medical workers in hazmat suits, not costumes, descending on the theme park tasked with testing each and every guest and employee nearly 34,000 people by mid Monday.
The radio announcement asked all the people to stop, one woman said. This man unsure how long they would be trapped in the park.
Once tested, visitors and workers were shuttled back to their homes and hotels using more than 200 buses. They're now required to self- isolate and undergo multiple COVID-19 tests in the next two weeks. All of this because of one confirmed COVID-19 case from a nearby province. Official say she visited the park Saturday. This is Shanghai Disneyland's first COVID related closures since May
2020, when it became the first major theme park to reopen amidst the pandemic.
These are very clear.
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CULVER: We visited the park as it started implementing what were then new and seemingly strict procedures, everything from social distancing to sanitation stations to digital contact tracing of guests changes the rest of the world quickly adopted.
But other countries are reopening borders and relaxing COVID restrictions. Places like Australia and Thailand learning to live with COVID.
But not China, officials here in Shanghai and across this country are determined to stick to their zero-tolerance approach. One case is one to many.
And if you think Shanghai Disney's shut down sounds extreme, that's nothing compared to what's happening in other parts of China.
An entire city in southeastern China's Jiangxi province coming to a stop. Officials temporarily turning all the traffic lights to red because of just one confirmed case. Mass testing and lockdowns in other parts of the country.
And last week, two Beijing bound high-speed trains halted mid journey, hundreds tested and isolated after officials found close contacts of one confirmed case on board.
As China prepares to host the Winter Olympic Games in three months, extreme containment measures are not likely to ease but if there's one magical place to spend a few hours locked down, Shanghai Disneyland might just be it.
The resort going ahead with their planned fireworks and light show as thousands were being tested, adding a spectacular backdrop to the government's narrative of its winning COVID strategy.
David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.
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VAUSE: Coming up later on CNN NEWSROOM, from a global pandemic and now the climate crisis, how the travel industry is facing yet another existential threat and this.
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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her bright pink dress squeals of laughter and childhood games, a ruse to the horrors unfolding in this inhospitable environment.
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VAUSE: The choice now are being made by families in Afghanistan selling children, the best option in the midst of a nationwide shortage of food.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Now to a distressing story out of Afghanistan, which shows the harsh reality of the humanitarian crisis which has spread across the country. Desperate families say they're being forced to sell their young daughters just to survive.
CNN's Anna Coren joins me now from Hong Kong with this exclusive report. This is heartbreaking.
COREN (on camera): Yes, absolutely, John, it's a really difficult story to watch. But I think it's so important that the world knows what is happening in Afghanistan right now.
In our exclusive report, CNN witnesses the tragic fate facing these helpless little girls.
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And is important to know that the parents gave us full access and permission to speak to the children and show their faces, because they say they cannot change the practice themselves.
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COREN (voice-over): In this arid, desolate landscape, not a scrap of vegetation in sight, lies a makeshift camp for some of Afghanistan's internally displaced.
Among its residents, 9-year-old Parwana (ph). Her bright pink dress, squeals of laughter, and childhood games. A ruse to the horrors unfolding in this unhospitable event.
Parwana's (ph) family moved to this camp in Badghis Province years ago, after her father lost his job.
Humanitarian aid and menial work, earning $3 a day, providing the basic staples to survive. But since the Taliban takeover, two and a half months ago, any money or assistance has dried up. And, with eight mouths to feed, Parwana's (ph) father is now doing the unthinkable.
"I have no work, no money, no food. I have to sell my daughter," he says. "I have no other choice."
Parwana (ph), who dreams of going to school and becoming a teacher, applies makeup, a favorite pastime for little girls, but Parwana (ph) knows she is preparing for what awaits her.
"My father has sold me, because we don't have bread, rice, and flour. He has sold me to an old man."
The white bearded man, who claims he's 55 years old, comes to collect her. He's bought Parwana (ph) for 200,000 Afghanis, just over 2,000 U.S. dollars. Covered up, Parwana (ph) whimpers as her mother holds her.
"This is your bride. Please take care of her," says Parwana's (ph) father.
"Of course, I will take care of her," replies the man. His large hands grab her small frame. Parwana (ph) tries to pull away.
As he carries her only bag of belongings, she again resists, digging her heels into the dirt. But, it's futile. The fate of this small, helpless child has been sealed.
Child marriage is nothing new in poor, rural parts of Afghanistan. But human rights activists are reporting an increase in cases because of the economic and humanitarian crisis engulfing the country.
HEATHER BARR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: These are devastating decisions that no parent should ever have to make. And it really speaks to what an extraordinary breakdown is happening in Afghanistan right now.
COREN: For months, the U.N. has been warning of a catastrophe as Afghanistan, a war-ravaged, aid-dependent country, descends into a brutal winter.
Billions of dollars in central bank assets were frozen after the Taliban swept to power in August. Banks are running out of money. Wages haven't been paid for months, while food prices soar.
According to the U.N., more than half the population doesn't know where their next meal is coming from. And more than three million children under the age of 5, face acute malnutrition in the coming months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People of Afghanistan need a lifeline.
COREN: And while a billion dollars has been pledged by U.N. donors to help the Afghan people, less than half those funds have been received, as the international community holds off recognizing the Taliban government.
ISABELLE MOUSSARD CARLSEN, HEAD OF OFFICE, U.N., OCHA: The people of Afghanistan will die of hunger in the next couple of months. And not just a few. This is just making people more and more vulnerable. And we cannot accept that.
COREN: Sentiments shared by the Taliban.
MAWLAWI ABDUL HAI MOSASHER, TALIBAN OFFICIAL FOR REFUGEES (through translator): We are asking aid agencies to come back to Afghanistan and help these poor people. Otherwise, the crisis will worsen.
COREN: For this family, in neighboring Ghor province, they're trying to sell two daughters: nine-year-old Lutan (ph), and 4-year-old Zetan (ph) for 1,000 U.S. dollars each.
"Do you know why they're selling you?" the journalist asks Zetan (ph).
"Because we are a poor family and don't have any food to eat," she says.
"Are you scared?" he asks.
"Yes, I am."
Another family in Ghor province borrowed money from their 70-year-old neighbor. Now, he'd demanding it back, but they have nothing to give, except their 10-year-old daughter, Magul (ph) (ph).
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"My daughter doesn't want to go and is crying all the time. I am so ashamed," he says.
Terrified, she threatens to take her life.
"If they push me to marry the old man, I will kill myself. I don't want to leave my parents."
Days later, she discovers that the sale has been finalized. Another Afghan child, sold into a life of misery.
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COREN: John, it is simply gut-wrenching, knowing what these girls, these young girls, will be subjected to.
An update on Magul (ph) (ph), the 10-year-old girl who appeared at the end of our story, who threatened to take her life, she will be handed over to the 70-year-old man in the coming days.
Now, according to the United Nations, unless this lack of aid to Afghanistan is addressed immediately, and you know, in the coming months, as it faces winter, there is a real concern that, perhaps, 97 percent of the country will be living below the poverty line, by the middle of next year.
Now, we know that so much of this aid is -- is tied up with the fact that the international community is refusing to recognize the Taliban government. They're trying to hold them to account over their human rights record, particularly when it comes to women and girls.
But by punishing the Taliban, they are also punishing these -- these people, and Afghan's most vulnerable, being these little girls. And the fear is that, if this humanitarian crisis continues, there will be more girls that end up just like Magul (ph), and Parwana (ph).
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Anna Coren there, live in Hong Kong. We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: Head scarf, sunglasses, behind the wheel on a sunny day. That is Queen Elizabeth, driving around her winter estate on Monday, despite recent health concerns.
After a brief hospital stay last month, doctors advised the 95-year- old monarch to rest, for at least two weeks. Buckingham Palace says, for now, the queen is performing light duties.
She was meant to attend COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, instead welcoming world leaders via video message.
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QUEEN ELIZABETH, UNITED KINGDOM: It is, perhaps, fitting, to have come together in Glasgow, once a heartland of the industrial revolution but now, a place to address climate change.
This is a duty I'm especially happy to discharge, as the impact of the environment on human progress was a subject close to the heart of my dear late husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
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VAUSE: Protesters spent the first day of COP26 slamming world leaders for inaction over climate change. Activists from the British charity Oxfam played in a Scottish pipe band, all posing as world leaders arriving to the summit.
The big heads band included U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as world leaders from France, Canada, Italy, India, Russia, China.
These industrialized nations are some of the world's highest greenhouse gas emitters.
Oxfam say they're asking leaders to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and deliver funding to developing countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Travel and tourism leaders are also meeting in the U.K. for the World Travel Market Expo. The big challenge they're facing: how to rebuild out of the pandemic in a sustainable way and stop the climate crisis from destroying some of the world's greatest landmarks.
More now from CNN's Richard Quest.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR (voice-over): Global heads of state and government making a last-ditch attempt to save the planet at COP26.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It's one minute to midnight on that Doomsday Clock, and we need to act now. QUEST: Tourism ministers, meanwhile, are gathered at the World Travel
Market in London, and realizing a warming planet puts their industry at a grave risk. They must quickly adapt.
Last year, it was COVID-19 that delivered a near-fatal blow. Now, of course, it's the ongoing climate crisis.
QUEST: Rising sea levels are drowning entire economies. Wildfires are stifling holiday seasons, and the rise of mega storms is leaving attractions around the world vulnerable to sudden disasters.
In the Maldives, lives and livelihoods depend on beaches and the tourists who flock to them. Their tourism minister told me without urgent action, they'll soon be underwater.
ABDULLA MAUSOOM, MALDIVES TOURISM MINISTER: We are feeling the brunt of that global warming. But we wish to be part of the solution, and I'm very happy that our president, Ibrahim Solih, has announced that by 2030, Maldives is going to be carbon neutral, and they now are now are our tourism master plan. We are gearing everything towards that.
QUEST: Jamaica is one of the great resort destinations of the Caribbean. In an effort to jump-start the island's COVID recovery, even more hotel rooms are under construction. The minister, Edmund Bartlett's warning over tourism is a real threat that must be faced and dealt with.
EDMUND BARTLETT, JAMAICAN TOURISM MINISTER: The environment is the product, and unless you manage that product, and you sustain that product, you will not have tourism.
QUEST: The industry is making pledges to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Consumers, increasingly conscious about the carbon footprint of their travels, are demanding more sustainable options now.
GRETA THUNBERG, CLIMATE ACTIVIST: Net zero by 2050. Blah blah blah. Net zero. Blah blah blah. Climate neutral, blah blah blah.
QUEST: The industry's represented by Julia Simpson, who says tourism needs to do what the leaders at COP26 appear unlikely to accomplish: unite around a plan for sustainability.
JULIA SIMPSON, CEO, WORLD TRAVEL AND TOURISM COUNCIL: It is not about demonizing individual industries. They thing we're demonizing here is carbon. And where -- where industries have really good solutions, some faster, and some a bit slower because of technological advances out there. But if they have the solutions, they will self-regulate.
QUEST (on camera): Having faced a year of total calamity, there is an air of optimism. People believe 2022 can be a bumper year for tourism.
But just as they were getting already to celebrate, of course, that is still the existential crisis of climate change. And on that, there is no agreement.
Richard Quest, CNN, the World Travel Market, in London. (END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We finish with a footnote to a story from last week. Tech billionaire Elon Musk has responded to an interview here on CNN with the director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley.
He directly challenged Musk and other uber wealthy to save millions of people from dying from starvation by giving up a fraction of their fortunes. Specifically, $6 billion.
Musk has now responded on Twitter: "If WFP can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6 billion will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it."
Beasley responded it would not solve world hunger, and for the record, he never said it would. But it could save 42 million people who are at risk right now of dying from starvation.
He tweeted, "We can meet anywhere, earth or space, but I suggest in the field, where you can see the WPF's people, processes and technology at work."
Point Beasley. Over to you, Elon. We await your reply.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause, and I'll be back at the top of the hour with another edition of CNN NEWSROOM. In the meantime, a short break, and then WORLD SPORT.
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