Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

CNN International: Kristi Noem to be Nominated for Homeland Security Secretary; Saudi Crown Prince Accuses Israel of "Genocide"; Archbishop of Canterbury Resigns Over Child Social Scandal; Trump Picks Former Congressman Zeldin to Lead the EPA; Trillions Needed to Drastically Curb CO2, Manage Impacts. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired November 12, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Welcome to "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson, it's 06:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi, coming up in

the next couple of hours. Sources tell CNN Donald Trump is likely to pick Marco Rubio to serve as his Secretary of State.

Eight aid organizations say Israel has not met the criteria set by the U.S. for improving the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. And Saudi Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman accuses Israel of carrying out collective genocide in the Enclave. Well, it's 09:00 a.m. in New York.

The stock market there will open about 30 minutes from now. The futures markets indicating a pretty flat open back there at half past this hour.

Well, one week after Election Day, Donald Trump busy filling out key positions in his second administration, and they all appear to have one

thing in common.

They are above and beyond everything else loyal to Donald Trump. Topping the list is Florida Senator Marco Rubio. Sources tell CNN he will be named

Secretary of State. Trump and Rubio have had a complicated relationship, but Rubio has evolved into a staunch Trump supporter.

There's a look at some of Trump's appointments or expected picks so far. They include Congressman Mike Waltz as National Security Adviser, and South

Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary. For more, I want to bring in Senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak.

Let's have a look at what we know today about who may make up this cabinet of people around Donald Trump. What do they tell us about what Trump is

prioritize -- sorry, prioritizing, certainly in terms of foreign policy, Kevin?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, these are hard line picks, I think, certainly. And when you look at the names Marco Rubio and

Mike Waltz, these are people with deep congressional experience, certainly, but they've also taken very hard line, views particularly when it comes to

China and Iran.

And I think that can tell you sort of the direction that Donald Trump may take once he comes into office, once he starts making decisions on foreign

policy, both of these men have also voiced some skepticism about continued American support in Ukraine.

And I think the real question going forward, as you talk to foreign policy experts here in Washington is whether, in their view, American resources

should be diverted from conflicts like Ukraine and put more towards confronting and growingly aggressive Beijing. And so, I think that, that is

sort of an overriding question that people are having this morning.

Marco Rubio, of course, has been in the Senate for a number of years, he sat on some critical foreign policy committees. He has taken also of

interest in Latin America, countries like Cuba and Venezuela, advocating for a stricter American approach to those countries, those autocracies,

trying to sort of maintain the importance of democracy in those countries and human rights.

Mike Waltz is someone who has also been in Congress for a number of years. He's a Former Green Beret. And I think it will be interesting for him, sort

of how he can influence sort of a president who isn't necessarily focused on the traditional policy making parameters.

The National Security Advisor position is someone whose task is really to create an interagency consensus between the Pentagon, between the State

Department, and try and bring it to the president for a decision that is not necessarily how Donald Trump works.

And so, this has been a position that traditionally, at least in the first administration, saw something of a revolving door, because it was so

difficult to get the president on to the sort of the decision-making apparatus. Another revolving door position in the first administration was

the homeland security secretary.

And we now know that Kristi Noem has been tapped to take that position. Donald Trump had five Homeland Security Secretaries the first time around.

So, this is a position that has come with some anger from the president, but I think for Noem, her task will certainly be focused on immigration.

We know that, that's a priority of the presidents, and we know that he has already tapped two loyalists to serve within the White House in the

immigration role. Stephen Miller as a Deputy Chief of Staff, and Tom Homan is something of an immigration czar.

[09:05:00]

And I think that tells you that, at least for Kristi Noem, her position might be outside where the actual decision making might take place, which

will be centralized in the West Wing. Of course, DHS, the Department of Homeland Security is a sprawling agency. She'll be responsible for agencies

like FEMA, like the Secret Service. So, she too will have a number of tasks before her as this administration begins.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Kevin, thank you. While Donald Trump's incoming White House then takes shape, the current administration faces a decision

over military help for Israel. Today is the 30-day deadline for Israel to meet U.S. set criteria to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza or face a

potential reduction in American military aid.

Eight aid groups say Israel has not only failed to meet U.S. conditions. Its military has taken steps to make the situation worse, these agencies,

say. And what could be seen as a face-saving measure, the IDF today announced the opening of a new humanitarian aid crossing into Gaza.

Kylie Atwood joining me. Kylie, you've been doing much of the reporting on this for CNN, all of this happening just ahead of a meeting at the White

House today between President Biden and Israel's President. What can we expect at this point?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen U.S. officials have said they're not going to get ahead of any action that they may or may

not take when it comes to ramifications for Israel with regard to this letter. Now, just to remind folks, as you were saying, this is a letter

that the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense sent to the Israeli counterparts 30 days ago.

Today, saying that Israel had 30 days to live up to these criteria that the U.S. was laying out for them in terms of what they could do to actually

improve the situation on the ground, humanitarian wise in Gaza, because clearly, there wasn't enough being done by their Israeli counterparts.

And what we're learning this morning is that the pressure on the Biden Administration to actually take action and to potentially put ramifications

into place for Israel are very real. These eight humanitarian and aid organizations are saying that Israel has just blatantly not lived up to the

criteria that the U.S. laid out in that letter.

I want to read to you a portion of this report that these humanitarian and aid organizations put out saying, quote, Israel not only failed to meet the

U.S. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the

ground, particularly in northern Gaza.

They go on to say that there weren't adequate humanitarian pauses, that Israeli attacks on humanitarian sites continued in the last 30 days, that

there were multiple humanitarian aid workers, about four of them at least, who died in the last 30 days because of Israeli attacks.

So, they are putting pressure on the Biden Administration to actually take action, because they are saying that Israel hasn't lived up to these

demands. Now, when it comes to what the Biden Administration has threatened, they could potentially do. They said that if Israel doesn't

demonstrate a continued commitment to taking these actions, to making the situation on the ground in Gaza better.

There could be, in the words of this letter, there may be implications when it comes to U.S. policy that relates to U.S. military sales to Israel, and

so that's what we're watching for. Is the Biden Administration willing to potentially up end some of those military sales, military weapon flows from

the U.S. to Israel, because Israel is not living up to the commitments that were laid out in this letter.

We need to know exactly what the U.S. government's assessment is, and that's what we're waiting for at the end of today, maybe tomorrow,

President Herzog, Israeli President is at the White House today. Yesterday, Ron Dermer, who is obviously Netanyahu's Top Adviser was at the State

Department. So, this is an active discussion between the U.S. and Israel today on the day of the 30-day deadline.

ANDERSON: Got it. And more on this as we move through these next couple of hours here on "Connect the World". It was good to have you, Kylie, thank

you. Well, Russian forces are ramping up a ground offensive on the Eastern Front, fighting to push Ukrainian forces out of Russia's Kursk Region.

That, of course, is where Kyiv launched a surprise counter offensive in the summer. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country's forces

are holding back a group of 50,000 which we are told also involves North Korean troops. Well CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in Moscow for us.

[09:10:00]

So, Zelenskyy says, Ukraine holding these troops back. What more do we know on this, at this point? And what is the perspective from Moscow where you

are?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I think it's a very interesting perspective that we're getting here from Moscow.

First of all, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also, once again, confirming that the Ukrainians say that it's around 50,000 Russian forces, including those

North Koreans who are fighting on the south side of Russia, that are amassing there in the Kursk region to try and at some point, obviously,

push the Ukrainians out of that area.

And we do know also, from what we've seen in movements over the past couple of days that the Russians seem to be really concentrating those forces down

there, getting ready for what could be quite a large push by the Russian military to then try and get those Ukrainian forces oust them, essentially

from that area, Becky.

It's something that the Russian President Vladimir Putin has said repeatedly that he wants to do, but he has also said in the past that he is

in no rush to do that, because for the Russians, currently, they say that, once again, their operation in the east of Ukraine remains, really their

main focal point.

That does seem as though the Russians now more and more getting ready and seeming to be ready to launch that major push into the Kursk region to try

and win that area back. It's unclear how much in the way the Ukrainians are going to be able to do to stop them.

Certainly, we do know that the Ukrainians have formidable forces on their side of the front line there, that they are some of the most well trained,

best forces that have been extremely successful in the past. But of course, 50,000 is definitely a very large force to contend with.

And one of the interesting things that actually happened overnight is that North Korea ratified a mutual defense agreement with Russia, saying that if

one of the two countries is attacked, that the other would spring to its side. So certainly, the cooperation that we're seeing between the Russians

and the North Koreans, as far as military is concerned, and the military area definitely seems to be something that is moving forward.

And certainly, it appears as though those North Korean troops that are now on the ground there in the Kursk Region, seem to be a sign of that military

cooperation expanding between Russia and North Korea. It's also something that Vladimir Putin has said as well.

And in general, right now, the Russians certainly believe that they are the ones who are on the offensive, who have the initiative, not just as far as

Kursk could be concerned, but also, of course, in other places in the battlefield as well. And if we look at the broader picture, Becky, what

we're hearing from Russians also is that many of them are quite optimistic about a Trump presidency, hoping that the war could come to an end and that

it could come to an end on terms favorable for Russia, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Fred. Fred is in Moscow. 12 minutes past 6 here in UAE. Breaking News into CNN, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby

has resigned over his handling of a child abuse case. The Archbishop of Canterbury is, of course, the most senior leader in the church of England.

More on that as we get it into CNN. Well, just days after Donald Trump won the U.S. election, Saudi Arabia's de facto leader has some of his toughest

words yet against Israel. While coming to Iran's defense, we'll break down what the timing of his comments could mean, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:00]

ANDERSON: Was the Trump Administration that begins to take shape? Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince making it clear where he stands when it comes to

regional issues, seeing one of his strongest criticisms since the start of the Gaza war. Mohammed bin Salman accused Israel of committing genocide in

Gaza, something that Israel has vehemently denied.

During a summit in Riyadh with the leaders of other Islamic countries, the Crown Prince also defended Iran, a sign of improved ties between the two

countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, SAUDI CROWN PRINCE: The Kingdom renews its condemnation and categorical rejection to the collective genocide that

Israel is committing against the Palestinians. We call on the international community to assume its responsibilities in maintaining international peace

and security by immediately stopping the Israeli attacks on our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon. And compelling Israel to respect the sovereignty of

the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran and not attack its lands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: In London. Nic, what do you make of what we have heard from the Crown Prince, and indeed the timing of his words?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, I think what we're sort of hearing from Saudi diplomats is that this is essentially what

they've been saying all along. They've been getting increasingly upset, frustrated, angry, have been expressing this to varying degrees publicly.

And certainly, behind closed doors, with visiting diplomats about the number, scale and scope of Palestinians, women and children figuring highly

among them that Israel is killing in Gaza at the moment as they're targeting Hamas there. And I think this language here clearly the harshest

so far.

You have to sort of understand that this is -- and the Crown Prince will certainly understand that saying it now certainly gets President-elect

Donald Trump's attention. But I think what the Saudis really seem to be expressing here is this frustration drawing a line, making it very clear

where they stand on this issue, and not just the issue of what they describe as collective genocide.

But on the issue that they see as a way to move forward in terms of a potential normalization of relations with Israel, which just isn't

practical and realistic at the moment, they would say, because Israel's political leadership won't tolerate that, so that it's not possible. But

they're also, again spelt out the terms there, sort of 1967 borders East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state.

Things that they've said before the Crown Prince has put very clearly on the agenda again. And I think this also sort of bolsters his position and

his standing in the region, because this is a collective position of almost 50 different leaders there in Riyadh.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Nic. Nic Robertson, watching things unfold there from London. The EU's Top Diplomat, Josep Borrell has condemned the

push by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to annex settlements in the West Bank. In a post on X, Borrell said, and I quote, I unequivocally

condemn Minister Smotrich's call to apply sovereignty in the West Bank, a clear step towards illegal annexation.

Such rhetoric undermines international law, violates Palestinians' rights and threatens any prospects for a two-state solution. On Monday, Israel's

Foreign Minister said the government had made no decision on annexation. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our

radar right now.

And at least 35 people are dead and dozens injured after a car plowed into crowds at a sports center in southern China on Monday night. According to

Chinese media, an SUV crashed into multiple fitness walking groups. Police say the driver had been apprehended, but was unconscious as a result of

self-inflicted injuries.

And Haiti officials say two jets from U.S. based airlines were struck by bullets on Monday while flying over Porto, France. Spirit Airlines says one

crew member received minor injuries when its plane was hit.

[09:20:00]

The incidents come amid escalating gang violence in Haiti. More, heavy rain forecast for the Valencia Region of Spain, which is still cleaning up from

last month's devastating floods. This latest round is not expected to be as severe as October's flooding, which killed more than 200 people and sparked

severe criticism over the government's response.

New Zealand's Prime Minister has offered a national apology to hundreds of thousands of victims of physical and sexual abuse. A report found that more

than 200,000 children and vulnerable adults were abused in state and church run institutions between 1950 and 2019.

The abuse included rape, forced sterilization and electric shocks. And a disproportionate number of the victims were either from the indigenous

Maori community or people with mental or physical disabilities. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon spoke in Parliament earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER LUXON, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: Today, I am apologizing on behalf of the government to everyone who suffered abuse, harm and neglect

while in state care. Today, make this apology to all survivors, on behalf of my own and previous governments. You deserved so much better, and I am

deeply sorry that New Zealand did not do better by you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, the Royal Commission that looked into the abuse also called on Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury to apologize publicly.

Coming up, Donald Trump's latest cabinet level pick says he will roll back regulations on the environment. Just as the U.N. tries to rally the world

to invest big money in the climate fight. That is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Let's get you back to what is our "Breaking News" this hour, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby has resigned. He had been under

pressure to go after a report accused him of failing to take insufficient action against a child abuser in the church.

He is the most senior leader in the church of England as the Archbishop of Canterbury. I want to bring in CNN's Vatican Correspondent, Christopher

Lamb. Christopher, what more do we know at this point?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well Becky, the decision that the archbishop is going to resign has just been released. The archbishop

saying in a statement that he had tended his resignation through the king.

[09:25:00]

Obviously, the king is the head of the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury, is the most senior leader. He said that he had failed to notify

properly the authorities when he was informed about details of an abuser in the church man called John Smyth.

The archbishop saying in the sentence in the state -- of his statement when I was informed in 2013 and told the police to be notified, I believed

wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow. Now, an official report into the abuses of Smyth found that the Archbishop of Canterbury

could and should have done more.

He has been under intense pressure over the last 24 hours to resign. A fellow bishop in the church of England called on him to step down. That's

really unheard of. So, the archbishop making this decision after this intense pressure from within the church of England to step down, calls, of

course, by survivors, for him to resign.

John Smyth, who is the abuser, who -- of which the report concerns. Smyth is one of the most notorious and worst abusers ever to be associated with

the church of England. And the Archbishop of Canterbury just another who said he didn't know anything about the abuse until 2013 was found to have

had dealings with John Smyth.

He knew him when he was younger. He exchanged Christmas cards with Smyth. So, this case was very difficult for the archbishop because of this

association with him, and he's clearly decided that he can no longer continue in post. I should add that the archbishop was due to step down at

the age of 70, when archbishop need to step down in January 26 just over a year from now.

But clearly, he can no longer continue in office with these calls for him to go from inside the church and from survivors, Becky.

ANDERSON: How would you describe his legacy?

LAMB: Well, when he came in to post, the archbishop was seen as a dynamic evangelizer, someone who would try and engage the church's message with a

wide group of people. He has taken important steps, as he says in his statement to reform safeguarding. He has tried to engage with wider

society.

He has been a leader who sought to do that, but I think there are big concerns about questions of his leadership, and that is why he has taken

this decision, which is without any obvious historical precedent.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Christopher, thank you. Christopher Lamb.

LAMB: Thanks.

ANDERSON: At any moment, a New York Judge in Donald Trump's criminal hush money case is set to rule on whether to throw out the president-elect's

conviction. In May, a jury convicted Trump of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment to adult film star Stormy

Daniels.

Now Judge Juan Merchan agreed to postpone -- until this month, and must now decide on Trump's motion to dismiss his conviction based on the U.S.

Supremes court recent decision on presidential immunity. This is a bit of a mouthful and lots in to unpick this for you. CNN's Kara Scannell is

following the story for us from New York, Kara.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, this is a big decision day in Donald Trump's legal world. This case, of course, the only case that

went to trial where Trump was convicted on those 34 felony counts, and the question before the state court judge is now whether Donald Trump's

conviction stands or whether this case gets thrown out.

And the issue is raised because of that Supreme Court decision. What the Supreme Court said was that at a trial, acts that are official in the

nature of the president cannot be used, even if they were completely legal acts. So, in this case, this prosecution put on the case. They included

testimony from White House aides, Hope Hicks and Madeleine Westerhout.

They also used some tweets that Trump issued while he was in office relating to his Former Fixer Michael Cohen. And Trump's lawyers are saying

that because of that evidence, that is the reason why this case should be dismissed and the indictment tossed as well, because they say that, that

should never have come in.

Now, prosecutors have argued that, that testimony, that evidence, was just a sliver of the mountains of documents and other testimony that the jury

heard in reaching this verdict. You know, a big decision here really unprecedented for the judge. And if he decides that this conviction stands,

it means that Trump will go into the White House as a convicted felon.

But his lawyers have already signaled that they are going to move, try to move his sentencing, try to prevent him from facing the judge. There all of

that is part of this effort to say that Trump is now president-elect, so a state judge should not have any say over his future for now, Becky.

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Kara, thank you. Well, it is the start of the trading day on Wall Street. A UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar ringing the

opening bell today. That's going to make the president-elect a happy man, after all UFC Legend Frankie Edgar stumped for the former president at an

event in Michigan just a couple of weeks ago before voters there went to the polls.

This is the beginning of the trading day, and that is the picture. Well, it's not a fighter's day as it -- as you'd have it. It's a pretty flat day,

to be honest, on the opening indicated by the futures markets. One of the biggest -- one of the world's biggest oil companies, was handed a win in

the Netherlands today.

Dutch judges overturning a landmark order for Shell to cut its carbon emissions by 45 percent, that ruling in 2021 mandated that the oil giant

make those dramatic cuts by 2030. Shell appealed and judges today rule that there is insufficient scientific evidence to require a 45 percent reduction

from one company. Shell says it is pleased with the ruling. The Head of the Environmental Group that brought the case said this hurts.

Well at this year's U.N. climate conference, which is now underway, the focus is squarely on finance. That is how to pay for the sweeping measures

needed to bring climate change under control and how to adapt to the worsening weather events caused by global warming. The U.N. Climate Chief

told the summit today, failure to invest now will just compound the costs in the long run.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON STIELL, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF UNFCCC: Unless all countries can slash emissions deeply, every country and every household will be hammered even

harder than they currently are. We'll be living in a permanent inflationary nightmare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir joining us now. Still there very much, trying to make this crisis relevant and in the hard

interests of. And all of us, to a degree, talking about the inflationary pressures that expansionary inflationary pressures.

It's a bit of a shift from the sort of doomsday rhetoric, we've heard so often that you and I have had some problems with, because, frankly, it oft

times put people off even considering climate crisis. Is this new narrative from the Head of the U.N. body on climate change going to resonate better,

do you think?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: It's a good question, Becky, but yeah, I don't think enough of us, at any level of whether you're in the

global south or in Manhattan or London or Dubai around the world, make that connection between our personal health, wealth and happiness with a climate

imbalance, with the idea that all of human evolution happened in this very sweet spot.

Goldilocks climate zone that we are now out of and are getting further away from with every gigaton of fossil fuel burn. So yes, will that land? But

again, this is such a bedeviling problem because it's slow motion enough that there's the sun. Sun is shining somewhere, and it always seems like a

distant problem, either on the other side of the planet, or often time when now it is evident.

It is here. It is here both in the measurements of earth and sea surface temperatures. It is here in wickeder and wilder storms and unpredictable

weathers and droughts and floods and fires around the world. We're seeing that, but getting every country, allies and enemies to agree.

That's why the Paris accord was such a seminal moment in civilization and created real energy that you're seeing now in the low cost of wind and

solar and battery storage that's happening. The question is, where we go from here, and whether this agreement can hold up, whether you can make

good on the moral promise to lift up developing countries and prepare for the help them -- prepare with help from the richest countries.

A trillion dollars is the goal to pledge, but if the United States isn't helping kick into that kitty, it's really defeating for those who want the

most international cooperation.

ANDERSON: Well, let's talk about where the U.S. goes next. Then the entire world, it seems right now is watching Mar-a-Lago as Donald Trump builds out

his administration, and he has picked Lee Zeldin to lead the environmental protection agency in the United States. What's that going to mean?

WEIR: Well, he's a loyalist, like most of these early Cabinet picks. Lee Zeldin voted against certifying the 2020 election, which Joe Biden won.

[09:35:00]

And has sort of lashed himself to the mast of Donald Trump, politically lost a governor's race running as a very pro fracking, pro-business

Republican, typical in that case, he last comments about global warming. He seems skeptical in 2014 and refuses to say if he believes climate change is

actually happening right now.

But here he is. Here's the new would-be EPA commissioner on Fox News talking about regulatory slash and burn which his new boss is promised.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE ZELDIN, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: There are regulations that the left wing of this country has been advocating through regulatory power that ends

up causing businesses to go in the wrong direction. And President Trump, when he called me up, gosh, he was rattling off 15, 20, different

priorities, clear focus. He wasn't reading off of some sheet. It's the top of his head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEIR: As a result of that, the Biden Administration is frantically trying to Trump proof a lot of laws. Last night, they finalized a methane

emissions law that was in the IRA that is just finding these oil and gas companies that let natural gas just plume into the atmosphere or flare it

off.

And then would incentivize them to capture that planet warming gas, methane 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. It's a third of the problem.

So, whether you'll now need an act of Congress to roll that back due to, you know, the Biden machinations now, or whether a day one executive order

would do that, but it's going to be the story of the next four years.

Everybody in the climate environmental space now on the defense against administration that seems hell bent on tearing it all down.

ANDERSON: Even before we knew the results of this U.S. election, I think it's fair to say most are geared up for this COP in Baku to be a less

consequential COP.

WEIR: Yeah.

ANDERSON: It's got a remit. It's climate finance, but we know very few, sort of headliners has turned up. And many world leaders sitting this one

out. This was somewhat expected. Last year, the UAE, which of course, hosted the COP28 meeting. They formed the Troika, a collaboration between

the presidencies of COP28, 29 and 30 for a reason.

They wanted some continuity. They actually wanted to see sort of plans that were sort of baked into the UAE consensus, which was the result of the big

meeting here in Dubai, sort of carried through. And this was an attempt to do that President Sultan Al Jaber spoke about that yesterday. Have a

listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SULTAN AL JABER, COP28 PRESIDENT: One of the most important presidents was the COP presidency, troika. A new mechanism for momentum that creates a

bridge between COPs 28, 29 and 30. The troika is mobilizing every multilateral platform, from the U.N. to the G20 to solidify the legacy of

the UAE consensus. It is the roadmap for keeping 1.5 within reach and aligned with the science.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The idea is to effectively draw a line between, sort of Dubai and Brazil, which, of course, is -- will host COP30 in the Amazon, of course.

Is there any chance of this momentum, sort of gaining any ground, given that it will now take place that next COP30 in November or December next

year under a second Trump Administration, Bill.

WEIR: You know that those earnest diplomats and those folks on the ground will be doing their level best. This is, as John Podesta said yesterday, is

not a fight that just ends with one election, one cycle, one country. The fight will continue, he said, with passion and commitment and belief in the

United States and various states, and you know that will happen around the world.

But yeah, the trio could -- that's what you want is some sense of a signal to the world that leadership is taking this seriously, allies and enemies

alike. It didn't help that the President of Azerbaijan welcomed the delegates and then gave a speech complaining about the fake news Western

media, and saying that his gas reserves are a gift from the God, and sort of scolding those who want to shift away from fossil fuels.

That was the agreement last year. Brazil, they're very focused on biodiversity. Obviously, the Amazon drought is really suffering those

ecosystems. So yes, it would be great to get any sort of continuity on this sort of thing, and we have a playbook from the first Trump Administration,

as California and other states took the lead.

Big cities took the lead on this, and industry is really heavily invested in this right now. It is the future, and whether the United States seeds it

all to China and the EU and leadership will see.

[09:40:00]

But I'd like you know you'd like to think that those structures might help, because the lack of talking gets us nowhere.

ANDERSON: There are profits to be had, of course, as you consider what these solutions look like. But before we talk solutions, we need to talk

financing. You and I have done a lot of that over the past months, we are going to take a very short break. Bill, thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: The year's final tennis event may not have names like Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal, but a new generation of men's stars taking aim at

the ATP finals in Italy. Amanda Davies has the latest on what is a new era in the world of tennis with "World Sport", right after this break. I'll be

back in 15 minutes with more "Connect the World". Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

[10:00:00]

END