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COP27 Summit; U.S. Midterm Elections; Saudi Committed to Climate Change; Locally Produced Power Vital to England. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired November 08, 2022 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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SAMEH SHOUKRY, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We want to see a clear commitment toward more reduction of greenhouse gases. More reduction of
emissions. More recognition of the importance of adaptation for developing countries.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): As leaders at COP27 grapple with implementing climate pledges, Egypt's foreign minister tells me about his
vision for the summit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: It is Election Day in America. President Biden's agenda hangs in the balance. Republicans are confident they can win control of both houses
of Congress.
And grim letters from Russian troops in Donetsk tell the tale of heavy losses as Ukrainian counter offensive there continues. We go live to
Kramatorsk for you.
I am Becky Anderson at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. Hello and welcome to a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD.
"The polluters should pay." That is a message being heard over and over again here at COP27, developing countries imploring the world's richer
nations to finally move forward on the much debated loss and damage fund that would address the damage caused by climate change.
The calls for compensation coming hand-in-hand here with the drive for innovation as countries look for new sources of green energy. Today host
Egypt and the United Arab Emirates struck a deal to develop what would be one of the world's largest wind farms. That will be here in Egypt.
It would cut the country's carbon dioxide output by about 9 percent. But this is, for now, a plan for the future. The current reality is that more
and more countries are enduring withering drought, devastating floods and prolonged heat waves.
Developing nations, as it so often the case, hit the hardest. They say the time for help is long past due. Senior international correspondent, David
McKenzie, is with me here again today.
David, you've been talking to the president of the Seychelles, one of those countries most hard hit and in dire need of help.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, we have talked about these droughts and floods, which have shocked everybody. There
are also these creeping crises for smaller nations like the Seychelles. They are seeing their country literally disappear in the coming decades.
Much of the coral atolls will vanish in the ocean and also the bleaching of the coral will devastate their tourism industry. I spoke with the
president. He said the time to act is now.
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WAVEL RAMKALAWAN, SEYCHELLES PRESIDENT: Well, this is why we are putting emphasis on the loss and damage project. We feel that those countries,
those industrialized countries, they are mainly responsible for the destruction. They need to sit down with us and to look at this seriously.
MCKENZIE: If that money doesn't come, what does it mean for your country?
RAMKALAWAN: Well, it means the coral islands, especially the outer islands, will disappear. We will no longer be an archipelago of 115
islands. We will only have the Grenadine Islands.
Those who are worst contributors to climate change will actually, this time, put the money where their mouth is. We have passed the point of
simply talking. Now we need action. It is getting too late.
MCKENZIE: If that action doesn't come, what is the impact for the youth of the Seychelles?
RAMKALAWAN: Well, it will be terrible not only for the youth of the Seychelles but also for the whole world. We will be talking about the
destruction of our planet. As I say, we have only one planet. There is no planet B.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: Becky, I feel for him. I have been to the Seychelles. It is almost like a bomb going off under the water in the coral atolls.
[10:05:00]
MCKENZIE: And they will lose their livelihoods.
ANDERSON: We have had some really ominous warnings here, not least by Myan Motley (ph), about the threat of climate refugees. We are talking, she
says, about billions and billions of people on the move. That is not an exaggeration.
MCKENZIE: It is not an exaggeration. Start on the small scale, several thousand people in the Seychelles; if there is no livelihood, the president
says they will have to move to the mainland. This is not some science fiction discussion. This is something that could happen in the decades
ahead.
ANDERSON: And they are putting plans in place to effect that should it happen.
MCKENZIE: They are. In the Sahel in West Africa, in northern Africa, we are already seeing climate migration push because of economic situations in
that zone. And as the climate worsens, you could see more people fleeing to rich nations that have some capacity to deal with climate change.
Again, from a selfish point of view, this is the reason rich countries should deal with both developing adaptation in those zones and figuring out
to drop emissions to not make it worse.
ANDERSON: Climate justice really is top of the agenda here. And it's good to see it because we have heard talk of climate justice at these meetings
in the past. But it doesn't make the headlines, it is pushed to the side. And it is really, really, important that this issue is discussed.
It is really good to see it discussed here as openly as it is. David, thank you.
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is calling on world leaders here to take real action now and without hesitating to reduce toxic polluting
emissions.
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ABDEL FATTAH EL-SISI, EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Here in now we are facing a unique historical moment, a last chance to meet our
responsibilities: implementation, implementation, implementation.
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ANDERSON: Well, I spoke about this with Egypt's foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry. He is also the president of COP27. I started by asking him about
his expectations for this summit. Have a listen.
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SHOUKRY: Our expectation is that, despite the very difficult environment that we live in, with the geopolitical crises and the consequences of the
global economic crisis, there is a challenge of the potential of backtracking.
This is important thing that we maintain the course, this momentum that was created in Paris and subsequently in Glasgow. Then we want to raise our
ambition as well. We certainly don't want to only maintain where we were.
We want to see a clear commitment toward more reduction of greenhouse gases, more reduction of emissions, more a recognition of the importance of
adaptation for developing countries and the provision of the finance to enable developing countries to undertake their responsibilities.
ANDERSON: Do you worry that the world 's richest are backtracking?
SHOUKRY: Absolutely. It is a worry for any of the parties of the conference to backtrack. And certainly those in the developed world that
have the resources, that have the resilience to be backtracking would send a devastating message.
It would have a very negative impact on the issue of trust. The issue of trust is an important one where there is this feeling of commonality and
that we are all in this together and must shoulder the responsibilities.
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ANDERSON: There is a deficit in trust from developing nations at this point, isn't there?
SHOUKRY: Of course there is. One of the reasons was not having fulfilled the $100 million commitment, several years after it was endorsed in
Copenhagen.
ANDERSON: You have talked about the pressing issue of funding arrangements, specifically for developing nations under what is known as
loss and damage. Last year high income rich countries blocked a proposal for a financing body under that scheme.
How can you be sure that that won't happen again this year?
SHOUKRY: I think what we have achieved after 30 years of discussion on this item, during this COP after a very strenuous negotiations that the
presidency team led, it will incorporate on the agenda an item related to loss and damage. That in itself is an achievement. But we are not going to
limit ourselves to that.
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SHOUKRY: But we also have to be practical. This is an issue of complexity and sensitivity. We will be confident to move it ahead in terms of
discussions and within a specific timeframe that the parties can come to an understanding on the finance mechanisms that would provide the assistance
to developing countries in terms of loss and damage.
ANDERSON: The U.N. chief doesn't think loss and damage is complicated. He says it can be paid for from windfall taxes on oil and gas companies.
Do you agree?
SHOUKRY: That is a matter for the parties to decide and for governments to provide the legislative framework for issues like this. I support that
there should be a funding mechanism.
How that indeed develops is going to be contingent on the agreements of the parties and their willingness to enter into legally binding commitments in
this area.
I won't highlight one manner of funding over the other. For us, as the president, we will facilitate the discussion and we hope to move forward
sufficiently to gain trust among the parties and to also deal with an issue that I think everyone recognizes is fundamental.
ANDERSON: The UAE will follow this COP with COP28 in Dubai, in the UAE next year.
How important is it for a region that faces such risks of climate crisis?
How important is it that these two meetings are held in this region, the Middle East, North Africa and wider Africa?
SHOUKRY: I think it is important that the COP is supported by nations of the south, both Egypt. And transferring these responsibility to the
Emirates is another indication of the willingness of the south to take responsibility, to show their commitment to dealing with climate change
effectively.
Also to highlight the opinions and the expectations and the aspirations of the south to maintain the viability of this planet for future generations.
If we do not rise to the occasion, if we do not meet the challenge, it will be too late. The deterioration will be irreversible.
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ANDERSON: That is Sameh Shoukry, Egyptian foreign minister and president of COP27.
We have also been hearing from the UAE's president. He has been telling this gathering that his country is very much on the clean energy case. Have
a listen.
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SHEIKH MOHAMED BIN ZAYED AL NAHYAN, UAE PRESIDENT (through translator): Oil and gas, ladies and gentlemen, in the UAE, is among the least carbon
intensive oil and gas around the world.
And we will focus on lowering carbon emissions emanating from the sector.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The UAE will host the COP28 meeting a year from now. Its climate change and environment minister Mariam Almheiri is with me now.
We have just heard from the UAE president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, saying the UAE will remain a global supplier of oil and gas as long
as the world needs that oil and gas. And it will focus on lowering carbon emissions emanating from that sector. It is important to ask the question.
How?
MARIAM ALMHEIRI, UAE CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: Thank you so much, Becky. Thank you for having me. Wonderful to have the viewers here,
as well. We are here at COP27.
Yes, it is all about implementation. It is really important to understand us, as the UAE, we have been on a journey now for the past 3 decades --
sorry, the flies are here.
(CROSSTALK)
ALMHEIRI: -- three decades in our journey going into a just energy transition. And the UAE has oil and gas. In a way it is taking a two-
pronged approach.
We are ramping up our renewables. At the same time decarbonizing the oil and gas sector. Since the 1st of January, we are running on clean and
renewable energy, completely decarbonizing its operations. With that, the UAE is offering one of the lowest carbon footprints barrels in the world.
Looking at technology is very important here. We also have the first industrial CCSU, carbon capture utilization and storage, with a capacity of
800,000 tons per annum, ramping this up to 5 million.
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ALMHEIRI: So key is the CCSU technology is really important. At the same time, we are using the energy of today or the energy systems of today to
ramp up the new energy systems of tomorrow.
ANDERSON: That means you make no excuses for this oil and gas will continue as an industry while this economy, which has energy
diversification embedded within its future strategy gears up.
ALMHEIRI: That's right.
ANDERSON: You have an ambitious net zero goal announced this time last year to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
How is that going?
ALMHEIRI: Yes, so Becky, we will be announcing in a few days here at COP27 our interim targets, also focusing on the hard baked sectors and where
their targets should be.
We -- the UAE is committed, is really serious about this. We announced our net zero strategic initiative being the first in the region to do so before
COP26. And in the last month we have been working with the private sector, with NGOs, with the community, to put together an ambitious pathway to net
zero by 2050.
So in a few days we will be announcing these interim targets, showcasing to the world that countries such as UAE, as we are transitioning, as we are
going to the net zero pathway, we see this as a vehicle of opportunity, by the way. So it really is a pathway for new industries, new skills. The
youth are extremely excited about this.
ANDERSON: And the UAE climate envoy, and some people may find this ironic, the head of the national oil company as well has talked at length about the
job opportunities and job growth that can come from an energy transition.
You hear the same narrative from John Kerry, as he is sort of, you know, put his furrow (ph) on the climate story.
Before I let you go, the UAE has been heavily invested in climate technology for years, Masdar, and you can explain to our viewers exactly
what that is, it's a major agreement with Egypt to develop a huge -- is it 10 gigawatts offshore wind project in Egypt, one of the largest wind farms
in the world.
We also saw the UAE and the United States sign a clean energy initiative recently for hundreds of billions of dollars.
Just how significant do you believe initiatives like these will be in the path to a cleaner future?
ALMHEIRI: It is so important, Becky. Next year at COP28 we will have the first global stock take, which is in a way, a report card telling the world
where we're at. Basically, the grades are not going to look good. And that's why these projects are key, because it's all about partnership.
It's about knowledge exchange, it's about technology transfer and this is what we need, we need to scale up these solutions, the solutions that are
sustainable, solutions that are scalable, that are bankable.
And this is exactly what we're doing. All of the projects that you named are part of this just transition that we're doing. And we, the UAE, we've
invested in the last 20-30 years about $40 billion outside of the UAE in over 70 countries, many of them being developing countries and small state
islands, small island state countries.
And really supporting them in their transition to using renewable energy sources.
ANDERSON: We understand, because it is such a focus here, that just transition and climate justice is so important as we continue on this path.
What we don't want to see is this highway to hell, as Antonio Guterres described the path we are on at present.
Always good to see you, thank you very much. Thank you for coping with our friend, who joined us for this interview, the local fly. Thank you.
Stay connected with our show for important interviews from COP27. Later this hour, the Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs, Adel al-Jubeir,
will talk about his country's plan to reach net zero emissions.
And next hour, Kenyan president, William Ruto, on what he calls delay tactics in establishing a loss and damage fund. Lots of really important
stuff to come.
Still ahead on the show after months of campaigning, the fate of U.S. midterm elections is finally in the hands of the voters. We're going to
take a look at how turnout is going so far.
And also, this hour, Ukraine's president describes intense fighting in the eastern Donetsk region as Russian, quote, "madness."
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ANDERSON: As Russia dismisses a complaint from its soldiers in the front lines. We will be live for you in Ukraine, I'm Becky Anderson, in Egypt, at
COP27, stay with us.
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ANDERSON: Polls are open across most of the United States. The U.S. midterm elections have finally arrived. All 435 seats in the House, more
than a third of the Senate seats are up for grabs.
Dozens of razor close races will determine which party controls Congress for the next couple of years. Now the election is somewhat of a referendum
on two people, not even on the ballot, of course.
Republicans have blamed the struggling economy on Joe Biden and blamed Democrats for spiraling inflation. Well, many Democrats say Republicans,
who backed Donald Trump and his election lies, are a threat to democracy.
One of the most watched races is for one of Georgia's Senate seats. Polls show senator Raphael Warnock and his challenger, Herschel Walker, are neck-
and-neck. CNN's Nick Valencia is in Atlanta.
Polls have been open for several hours in Georgia.
Any indication of turnout here?
And just explain why this race is so significant, sir.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, it's been open for about 3 hours, the polls have. And it's been a steady stream of people at this
polling location in Dekalb County in the city of Atlanta.
That may be a familiar county to some of our international viewers. It was decisive and handing the victory to President Biden and also sending
senator Raphael Warnock, the current incumbent senator here in Georgia, to Washington, D.C.
Both Democrats and Republicans have indicated that the path to control of the Senate runs right through Georgia. And that is something that is not
lost here on the voters. There's been a steady stream of voters all morning long. There were about 20 people lined up outside of the door earlier this
morning.
That could be more so attributed to that prework rush of voters. But the secretary of state's office, they say it's about 2-3 minutes in and out,
about a minute to check in and we've seen that steady stream of voters happen.
I mentioned the path to control of the Senate, both parties believe that it runs right through Georgia. And that is a fact not lost on voters; 2.2
million have cast their ballots early voting. That's a historic number early votes cast and that steady stream continues here this morning.
There is a possibility though, Becky, just really quick, I should add of a potential of a runoff. Here in the state of Georgia, if no candidate gets
more than 50 percent of the vote, then that triggers an automatic runoff. That would happen on December 6th. It was yesterday during his closing
remarks, senator Raphael Warnock sounded confident.
[10:25:00]
VALENCIA: But he also expressed some concern at the possibility of a runoff. Meanwhile, Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, bold in his
prediction, saying that Tuesday night, when things are all said and done, he will be the winner -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Thank you, sir.
Join CNN later today for special coverage of the crucial U.S. midterm elections. They will determine control of Congress and that is important.
They start at 4 pm on the U.S. East Coast. That's 9 pm in London, if you're watching here in Egypt, that is 11 pm.
Well, Russia's ministry of defense is denying a stark report, said to be from its soldiers on the front lines in Eastern Ukraine.
In a letter reportedly sent to a Russian regional governor, troops from an elite Russian marine unit say that they were thrown into an
incomprehensible battle in the Donetsk region and that as many as 300 troops were killed or wounded with others still missing.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy referred to that intense combat in his nightly video address, saying that Donetsk, the region, remains the
epicenter of the, quote, "biggest madness of the occupiers." Our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, joins us live from
Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region.
Let's talk about this intense fighting.
What can you tell us about that troop loss and indeed Russia's response, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, I think it was just a one-off scenario, where we've heard of a high Russian casualty count
and criticism of commanding officers and trying to raise the flag back in, you know, back with the politicians and the rest of Russia.
Then there is a possibility it could be dismissed as, you know, an aberration. But this is not. This is consistent with the criticisms that
have been surfacing, particularly since President Putin called for this conscription about a month or so ago.
He said now there are more than 80,000 trained, more than 50,000 of those put in the front line. But the consistent narrative, this is the one
amplified by this letter about the loss of deaths or wounding of over 300 marines, is that the troops are getting to the front line.
They're not adequately informed about where they're going, they don't have the right equipment, they don't have enough ammunition, they don't have
enough weapons, they don't have enough protective helmets and flak jackets.
It's also consistent with what we're hearing from Ukrainian troops, who tell us that they see these new recruits being forced, these new Russian
recruits being forced to the front lines.
And they can say, you know, these Ukrainian troops that are witnessing this are experienced at the front line. They can see these Russian conscripts on
the other side being inexperienced. They're watching them in drones, they don't know how to behave on the battle front, is what one Ukrainian
soldiers said to us. And they're seeing these new recruits being used as essentially cannon fodder, sent forward by more professional private
military contractor mercenaries, if you will, of the Wagner group.
Sent forward by them to really illuminate where the Ukrainian troops are. The Ukrainian troops fire at the conscripts moving forward. That gives away
their firing position. But the Ukrainians are saying they can see the bodies piling up.
So the image that emerges is a consistent one, that the battlefront right now is very hot. We know on the Ukrainian side there are casualties too
there. It's a very intense battlefront right now. But from the Russian side, the losses are even shocking the Ukrainians at the moment.
ANDERSON: Nic Robertson's on the story for you in Kramatorsk in Ukraine, where the time is just before half past five in the evening. Thank you,
Nic.
Ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, I talked to the Saudi climate envoy here at the climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt about his nation's new
financial commitment to clean energy as one of the world's top oil producers.
Plus, locally produced power is now a vital source of energy security in England. How thousands of people are sidestepping the fossil fuels that
have become a weapon of war.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back. We are at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. I'm Becky Anderson, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
The frustration may be felt here at the COP27 summit. We are hearing poorer countries are frankly growing increasingly fed up with wealth countries
whose emissions are driving global warming.
And the polluters they say are not paying up. Well, that is not good. It does a number on trust, doesn't it?
That's what the president of COP27 has been telling me. As you may have heard earlier this hour, the Egyptian foreign minister told me it's a bad
idea for developed nations to backtrack on financial help for less affluent countries, which are suffering through climate disasters.
Amid the frustration, the demands for climate justice, Saudi Arabia is looking ahead, targeting net zero emissions by 2050. The kingdom seeking to
achieve that goal with financing through its public investment fund.
The Saudi crown prince announced that initiative in his opening speech here on Monday, along with Saudi Arabia's contribution to the Middle East green
initiative. Have a listen.
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MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, SAUDI CROWN PRINCE (through translator): In confirmation of its commitment to global sustainability efforts, the
kingdom announced hosting the general secretariat headquarters of the Middle East green initiative and contributing $US 2.5 billion to support
the initiative's projects and the budget of the general secretary for the next 10 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, that was the crown prince.
Saudi Arabia's climate envoy here in Egypt talked to me about his country's financial commitment to green energy and how that can go, he says, hand-in-
hand with being one of the world's top oil producers. Have a listen to my conversation with Adel al-Jubeir.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL-JUBEIR: It's very significant because it highlights the kingdom's commitment to working on climate change and working on the environment. It
sets an ambitious target for Saudi Arabia. It makes the public investment fund the first sovereign wealth fund in the region to set a target as
ambitious as this.
It tracks with what we've done in terms of targets set by Saudi Aramco and Saudi to be net zero by 2050. And also tracks with what Saudi -- the goal
of Saudi to being carbon neutral by 2060.
ANDERSON: This is a commitment that some of our viewers will find difficult to square, as an oil and gas producer, who, quite frankly, will
squeeze the life out of the industry and the resources as long as you can, to which you say what?
AL-JUBEIR: We are very committed to working on combating climate change. We're very committed to the environment. We live here. We have seen
increases in dust storms in Saudi Arabia.
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AL-JUBEIR: We see increases and water temperatures, we see the melting of the icebergs. We know this.
And we have a hugely ambitious program to deal with environmental and climate change issues, whether it involves setting aside 30 percent of our
territory as protected areas, 20 percent of our maritime areas as protected areas.
It is becoming the largest producer of green hydrogen (ph) in the world, turning waste into energy, having the Middle East green initiative, which
looks to plant up to 40 billion trees and shrubs over the coming decades.
The same with the Saudi green initiative (INAUDIBLE) trees and shrubs over the next decades. We are committed to this.
And when you look at the more than 60 initiatives in Saudi Arabia, turning waste into energy, we are one of the largest investors in solar, hydro and
wind power. We don't believe that this is in any way contradictory to what you see in oil and gas. We believe the world needs more energy.
Where is this energy going to come from?
The ability to produce oil is limited. Any additional increase in energy demands have to be met by alternative energy. Saudi Arabia has been on the
forefront of this and we've been telling the world about this for the last 40 years. And now, we are actually doing it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That is the Saudi climate envoy, speaking to me just a little bit earlier, just before we started the show.
On day 2 of COP27, I've been speaking to many of the world's leaders here. Among them the president of Kenya, William Ruto. He told me in his words
that it was not right for us to pollute this world to the extent we're facing an existential threat. Have a listen to some of what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM RUTO, PRESIDENT OF KENYA: Two days ago, I was in the northern part of Kenya, where we are intervening because of food insecurity. We have to
provide food stamps for 4.3 million Kenyans, who are facing starvation because we have the worst drought in 40 years.
We have had three or four consecutive years of failed rain. Another result, we have to allocate resources meant for hospitals, meant for drugs in
hospitals, meant for education of our children, to be able to feed the population. The reality of climate change is here with us. It is not the
future, it is in the present.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: My full interview with Kenya's president in the next hour of CONNECT THE WORLD.
Well, England has the world's largest wind farm to date. And it has been pushing for greener energy for years, long before Russia's war on Ukraine
sent fuel prices soaring. As CNN's Clare Sebastian reports, it's not just energy security driving that change, it's money. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIELLE LANE, VATTENFALL UK COUNTRY MANAGER: You don't want them so high that they become dominating on the landscape.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 82 meters high, these are considered baby turbines in the wind industry. And yet these babies
pack a punch, 11 of them spiking out of active farmland in central England, generating enough electricity per year to power 16,500 homes, locally-grown
power now a vital source of energy security in a world where fossil fuels have become a weapon of war.
LANE: We really see a big increase of interest in governments in renewables. And it really puts a lot of pressure on companies like
ourselves to deliver. So we are trying to accelerate projects that we've got. And we're trying to build things safely but more quickly.
SEBASTIAN: This wind farm has been here for 10 years. But the plan now is to expand it into solar. They already have permission to build a solar farm
on the same site.
That, they say, is because the future of renewables is putting multiple different types in the same location to make the most of the available land
and produce electricity, whatever the weather.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Russia's war on Ukraine cut off major gas supply routes and sent global energy prices soaring. Some countries like Germany
increased their use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel of all, and ramped up spending on infrastructure to import liquefied natural gas.
SIMONE TAGLIAPIETRA, SENIOR FELLOW, BRUEGEL: In the short term, governments that need to secure the energy systems are using all the
possible options. I think that in 10 or 20 years' time, looking back at these moments, we will realize that these were a great facilitator.
Everybody in Europe appreciates and understands that renewables also have geopolitical benefits.
[10:40:00]
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): It's not just energy security driving the change, it's economics. Solar Energy U.K. says more solar panels were installed on
British homes in the first half of this year than the whole of last year, as people rushed to avoid surging fuel bills.
Good Energy U.K., a 100 percent renewable electricity provider, says this trend extends to businesses.
NIGEL POCKLINGTON, GOOD ENERGY: We just worked with a business park in Gloucestershire, who have completely covered their rooftops with solar
power. And they're selling about a third of it back to the grid.
Solar installations can be relatively cheap. We think the payback on that is now getting down below five years. And it gives households and
businesses a reasonable degree of energy independence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So the swept area of the blade is what counts.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The week we visited this farm, U.K. wind's generation hit a new record, providing 54 percent of the country's
electricity in a single day, fueling hopes of a turning point -- Clare Sebastian, CNN, in Leicestershire, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Still ahead on the show, it was a big party in downtown Houston and we are going to tell you why. Alex Thomas has the details in the "WORLD
SPORT" update. That is next.
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