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Electric Vehicle Deal Expected at COP26 Summit; Draft Glasgow Agreement Aims for 1.5 Degree Celsius Warming Limit; Visit By U.S. Vice President Aims to Boost Ties with France; Thousands of Migrants at Border Hoping to Get into EU; Teaching Children to Connect with and Care About Nature; Efforts to Replant California's Redwood Trees. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired November 10, 2021 - 04:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[04:30:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Transportation day at the COP26 climate summit is expected to bring global progress on electric vehicles. That reports say the U.S. and China and Germany are resisting. A proposed deal would commit countries to work towards all sales of new cars and vans being zero emission by 2040.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is urging COP26 delegates to pull out all the stops on an agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

CNN's Phil Black is live this hour in Glasgow, Scotland. Phil, I understand a draft agreement has been put out. What's in it?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kim. So, what we've seen is a draft agreement of some of the final language that this conference has been building up towards. This A couple key points, mostly revolving around 1.5 degrees being the target for limiting average global temperature increase. Some interpretations suggest it's a little bit stronger than it was previously. Others suggest not as strong as it should be.

And the other key point is it does indicate that countries whose commitments are not on target to coming back -- to not on target to achieving 1.5, around there, need to come back by the end of 2022 with new targets, more ambitious targets. That's still going to be threshed out over the next few days.

And what we know at this point is that those commitments, what has been agreed here So, far, is simply not sufficient towards achieving that big target of 1.5 degrees. The reason and the reality check comes from a respected project, climate action tracker which closely follows and analyzes individual's countries commitments and actions. And it has found that the world even at this crucial point in the conference all that has been decided so far, is still very much on track toward catastrophic climate change of around 2.4 degrees Celsius.

That is a long way from 1.5. The reason is simple. The science says countries have to start cutting deeply now and not enough have indicated they are willing to do so. Here's some more context from one of the report's authors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKLAS HOLNE, NEWCLIMATE INSTITUTE FOUNDING PARTNER: Well, with the current pledges, and all the things that countries propose, we see a roughly stabilization of greenhouse gas emissions until 2030. So, they're not going up any more, which is good, because in the past they have always been going up by 1 to 2 percent per year. I think with current action they're flat lining until 2030 which is OK, but not good enough. They need to be halved by 2030. So, we are emitting still twice as much as we should.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: So, this report illustrates the real-world outcomes, the likely real-world outcomes of what we already knew. Lots of countries have come into this conference pledging big long-term commitments taking net zero carbon around the middle of the century. But the science is very clear. Without detailed plans, without a willingness to start cutting hard and fast right now, those promises are simply not credible -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, still a big gulf between what's needed and had what we're doing. Phil Black, thank you so, much.

In the coming hours, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will sit down with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Our visit to France is aimed at revitalizing relations between the two countries less than two months after a U.S. decision to help Australia develop nuclear submarines, sunk France's own deal with Australia. And it comes just weeks after President Joe Biden and Macron met on the side lines of the G20 summit.

Let's head out to the French capital where CNN Paris correspondent Melissa Bell is standing by with more. Melissa, now these vice- presidential foreign trips as you know, are often basically just ceremonial. But this one seems as though it might be more substantive. Take us through the aims of this visit.

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've seen that attempt, those attempts over the course of the last few weeks to unruffle ruffled French feathers as a result of that row over the summary deal, the August deal between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia that had been as President Biden himself acknowledged announced in a way that was clumsy, that had lacked grace. The French had taken it very badly.

So, this visit really about continuing those efforts. First of all, to show that the United States, its oldest alliance, matters to it. There will be of course all the ceremonies around the World War I Armistice Day tomorrow. Today though, that bilateral meeting between Kamala Harris in the French President really aimed at looking at where concretely they can continue to collaborate and reminding one another that they remain staunch allies.

So, things like the Indo-Pacific region and how they can collaborate there. Things like the global pandemic as well.

[04:35:00]

But you're right, this time it is much more about reestablishing the strength of that relationship, although even at a time, Kim, when in fact all that has happened goes in the direction of the French president who for a long time has been arguing that Europe needs to be less reliant on the United States. He is very much in favor of things like the creation of European defense force, something that a lot of European countries are opposed to.

And really what he wants is American backing for the idea that a strong European defense force, a European army, more strategic independence for Europe is not incompatible with its continuing to work with the United States in the context for instance of NATO. That is the background. But of course, there will be all the ceremonies that go with it to remind one another of just how historically strong the bond between the United States and France has been -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. You'll be covering that visit throughout the day. Melissa Bell, thank you so, much.

On the border between Poland and Belarus, thousands of migrants are being used as political pawns in a move some fear could lead to acts of violence. Over the past few weeks, the migrants have set up makeshift camps at the Polish border hoping to cross into the European Union. Many of those are women and children who are camping out in freezing temperatures, forced to sleep on the ground. Poland and the EU accuse Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of creating the crisis as a way to lash out against sanctions placed on Minsk a few months ago. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is following the story from Berlin. Fred, obviously a really tense situation at the border which could have huge implications across the region. I know you were doing some reporting from the German border. Bring us up to speed.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly. I mean, massive implications across this entire region. You just have to look at the actors who are involved to see just how devastating the situation can get. You obviously have the one side have Belarus and its biggest backer which is, of course, Russia with its president Vladimir Putin.

But then of course, you have Poland on the other side which is obviously a member of the European Union and NATO, and both of those organizations have already said that they fully stand behind Poland and the way that Poland has been handling this crisis so far.

And what we're seeing right now, especially over the past couple of days, Kim, is really that situation as you said, really escalate a great deal. For the first time two days ago, what happened was that a very large group of migrants was sent to the border --according to Polish authorities -- sent there by the Belarusian authorities and is now camped out there. This was the second night that that very large camp that has been there. The temperatures as you noted -- I was actually monitoring them overnight. They went well below freezing overnight. So, devastating situation on the ground there for the people who are camped out there with obviously very little in the way of supplies, pretty much nothing in the way of infrastructure.

And Poland does say that in the past hours there have been several attempts to try and breach that border. There apparently were two successful attempts to get through the border, but Poland did say that it turned a lot of the people who got through there back and also detained nine people as well.

The Polish defense ministry -- defense minister this morning, he went on Polish radio and he there said, that yes, the situation remains very difficult. Yes, there are still what the poles call attacks on their border. But they do believe that they have the situation under control. They believe they have the forces necessary there to keep the situation under control and they also say that that essentially wall of barbed wire they built at this point in time is still managing to keep things under control -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll keep monitoring this volatile story. Fred Pleitgen, thanks so much.

An American journalist is facing new charges from Miramar's military leadership. Danny Fenster is now accused of sedition and terrorism. If convicted of sedition Fenster faces 7 to 20 years in prison. The editor of the local Frontier Miramar was arrested as he tried to leave the country in May. He's being held in the notorious insane prison since then.

All right. Still to come, CNN is marking its first call to Earth Day. We'll look at how young foresters are helping plant a new generation of giant California redwoods. Stay with us.

[04:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Over the past ten days we've been covering the environmental challenges facing our planet. These issues can sometimes feel vast and overwhelming, but we want to put the big focus right now on solutions and conservation education. Today on our call to Earth Day, CNN is celebrating the people creating a more sustainable future, those who are driving awareness and inspiring action. From Hong Kong to New Delhi, New York to Beijing, CNN correspondents across the world will bring you stories throughout the day about extraordinary individuals protecting our planet and about young students who are learning to do the same.

And some of those students attend the Rainbow School Paris, and that's where our Cyril Vanier is live. Cyril, I know you have some special guests behind you there. So, tell us how they are making a difference.

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kim, and welcome again to this little corner just outside of Paris. This park where dozens of children from the Rainbow School, international bilingual students, are learning to engage with nature. Now, we're talking about 6 to 9- year-olds here. So, there's no talk of climate change, nothing like that. It's really about learning to engage with your immediate environment. So, these students here learning to recognize different trees, leaves,

insects. These students were on a scavenger hunt just moments ago. In these are city kids. So, they don't interface all that much with the outdoors. They are being taught to engage and understand their immediate environment. This is my favorite workshop right here. Let me introduce you. Good morning, kids. Let's see --

KIDS: Good morning.

VANIER: Let's see what's going on. Can somebody, can somebody explain to me what you are doing at the moment. All right. We've got one raised hand. What are you doing right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: We're making a bird house for all the birds to eat. We're putting peanut butter and bird seeds. So, they can eat for their snack.

VANIER: Oh, my goodness. That was a fantastic explanation. They're making a bird feeder from recycled material. So, you're seeing the cups, the skewers, all of that's been recycled. And the idea this morning is to give back to nature with recycled material of course so you don't take from nature and you give back to nature. So, there is going to be food for these feeders for the birds in the park and the kids will be taking them back home.

And let me speak to Dorian Cliff. Dorian, thanks for being with us this morning.

DORIAN CLIFF, TEACHER, RAINBOW SCHOOL PARIS: Of course.

VANIER: Explain to me why you're doing this morning for the kids. What is this about?

CLIFF: This idea is about giving the kids an opportunity to connect with nature and have these foundational experiences of being able to give back in a way that's recognizable for themselves. And here is a bird feeder.

[04:45:00]

They're just going to feed a few birds in their backyard which is small in the grand scale of things, but it's an experience that they'll remember much later on.

VANIER: Dorian, thank you very much. Thanks to all the kids from the Rainbow School here in Paris. The idea is as we understand it, Kim, changing the world is a big thing when you're 6 to 9 years old. But learning how to change your immediate environment by staking concrete steps that's what they're learning this morning -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: That and learning how to try and get some facetime in the camera there. That was just too cute. Cyril Vanier, thank you so much, we really appreciate it.

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to many tech giants including Facebook, Twitter and Google. But centuries ago, the Bay Area was ruled by a different kind of giant, redwoods. CNN's Bill Weir has more on how one organization is hoping to bring them back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since they are an all too rare tourist attraction today, it can be hard to believe giant redwoods used to line hundreds of miles of Northern California coast. Living for more than 2,000 years, as the tallest organisms on earth.

Now, David Milarch and his Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is trying to plant a new generation of giants. He takes clippings from the tops of the oldest and largest, some 400 feet tall, back to his lab in Copemish, Michigan.

There specialists use a technique called micro propagation to grow them into saplings. And he says that from a single sample, a team of scientists can grow an unlimited number of clones. The problem, how to get them all in the ground. It will probably take an army.

And that is where these little soldiers come in. They are tree schoolers at the Cow Hollow school in San Francisco. You heard right. Not pre, but tree schoolers who attend outdoor classes to learn about ecology and sustainability at an early age by getting their little hands dirty.

JEAN FRASER, CEO, PRESIDIO TRUST: Today is particularly important because we're planting some very special trees, which is why we have some special helpers with us today.

WEIR (voice-over): Keeping their focus is sometimes tough.

FRASER: These redwoods and sequoias have been cloned from some old redwoods and sequoias.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: How do you plan sequoias?

FRASER: Sequoias you plant them the same way. You got to make a hole in the ground, you're going to learn to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I know how to make a hole.

FRASER: We need the holes in the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I know what a hole is.

WEIR (voice-over): But when it's finally, time to get down to it, these budding foresters couldn't wait to dig in. On this day about a dozen redwood trees made it into the soil. And the Presidio Steve Duffy says the forestry department plans to plant 100 more by the end of the year.

STEVE DUFFY, ARBORIST, PRESIDIO TRUST: Grown up in the city could be kind of lacking as far as nature goes. And so, to get kids out with native plants, with trees, and then it could all work together, I think it's pretty special. WEIR (voice-over): According to Save the Redwoods, more than 95

percent of the natural redwood forest have been lost due to deforestation, wildfires and, yes, climate change. And for Milarch, these tree plantings are just a start. He hopes someday to replant millions of redwoods all over the world using our littlest citizens to help sow the seeds for the biggest forms of life and a healthier planet.

DAVID MILARCH, ARCHANGEL ANCIENT TREE ARCHIVE: Recently we've been placing thousands and thousands of these redwoods in the Seattle area. We're doing it in England, Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, British Columbia, now the schools are calling and say, we're going to need a heck of a lot more of these redwoods and sequoias because we want our schoolchildren to start reforesting. And don't be surprised in ten years when you drive up there. Those trees in ten years will be 30 or 40 foot tall.

WEIR (voice-over): As the old proverb goes, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now. The meaning may not dawn on these tree schoolers quite yet, but they are proof that you're never too young or too old to have an impact. And even the tiniest of hands can make a huge difference.

MILARCH: I think the whole world needs that message of hope. There is something each person on this earth can do to help reverse climate change and there's two dozen or so, 3 to 4-year-olds here today to help us do that. So, if a 3 or 4-year-old can do it, what's your excuse?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): This is a planet worth protecting. Tell us how you are answering the call with a #CallToEarth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. Let's take a look at some of the best moments so far from Call to Earth Day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:50:00]

CROWD OF KIDS: Call to Earth.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Hong Kong, I'm at one of hundreds of schools around the world marking the very first Call to Earth Day. A day of action to help protect the environment. Let me tell you, the community here at DSE International, they are all-in. The parents, teachers, staff, and these students.

THIEN DYLAN PORTER, DSC INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, HONG KONG: My Call to Earth is our future. And not only for us, but for those that come after us as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Be nice to the earth-like the earth is nice to us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: One person can make a change.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to Finnish school we're raising the next generation of leaders.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: We can the whales and the sea lions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: We are saving the earth one step at a time.

NADEZDA STEVIC, DSC INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: We believe that we can make the earth a better place if we start learning at this young age. Because, let's face it, we are the future of the world and so, our little kids and their kids and their kids and their kids, and we want them to have a nice world like we did.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: These kids are literally from all corners of the world. They're also trying to get involved and do more to make a difference and through firsthand experiences.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's exciting curiosity for what surrounds them. And the hope is that eventually they become global citizens who can engage in the big questions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: To find out more about the environmental challenges facing our planet and what's being done to address some of them, just head to our website, CNN.com/CallToEarth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: One of the most recognized TV news anchors in the U.S. is signing off for now. Brian Williams announced Tuesday he will leave MSNBC and NBC News at the end of the year. The 28-year veteran once anchored the "NBC Nightly News" and was a key player in the launch of MSNBC. His career was temporarily derailed in 2015 after he exaggerated some stories and interviews. Williams says there are many things he wants to do and will pop up again somewhere.

"People" magazine has named Paul Rudd the sexiest man alive for 2021. Now it's probably no coincidence that his new movie "Ghostbusters After Life" hits theaters later this month. Rudd's first big movie role was in the 1995 film "Clueless." He starred as "Ant Man" and played Phoebe's boyfriend on "Friends." Rudd says he hopes to be invited to some of those sexy dinners with previous winners George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

All right, thanks so much for joining us. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "EARLY START" is up next. You are watching CNN.

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