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Hala Gorani Tonight
Obama Clean Energy Plan; Greek Stock Markets Re-Open, Stocks Plummet; Numerous California Wildfires Raging; French Public Beach Closed for Saudi King's Visit
Aired August 03, 2015 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:13] HALA GORANI, HOST: Tonight, tackling climate change.
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GORANI: As U.S. President, Barack Obama presents his plan to end America's obsession with coal I will speak to a top environmental official.
Also this hour Greek shares in free-fall after the country's stock market finally re-opens. Also, first the drought, now the wildfires in California
where almost 10,000 firefighters are in a race against time.
And it is a French beach fit for a king but now after an uproar over its closure there's no longer any Saudi royalty to be found there.
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GORANI: Hello everyone, I'm Hala Gorani, we're live at CNN London, and this is The World Right Now.
The American President, Barack Obama says no challenge poses a greater threat to our future than climate change.
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GORANI: He just unveiled, just minutes ago, the final version of what's called America's Clean Power Plan a major effort to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions from coal burning power plants. And many states in the U.S. by the way rely a lot on coal, so this is not an easy battle.
Mr. Obama says if we do not fight climate change now future generations may not be able to reverse its destructive effect.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do
something about it. And that's why I committed the United States to leading the world on this challenge. Because I believe there is such a
thing as being too late.
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GORANI: Well let's quickly look at some of the details of Mr. Obama's plan without bogging anyone down in technical or scientific speak.
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GORANI: Essentially it requires power plants in America to cut emissions by 32% from this year's level and this by the year 2030.
Now states are required to submit their plans to meet the new regulations by next year but they will be given a two year extension if requested.
They'll also be allowed to trade carbon credits to meet emission targets. And the deadline to comply with all those targets comes in 2022.
That's (inaudible) come quickly, seven years basically. Time flies.
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GORANI: President Obama is certain to face fierce pushback on the new regulations especially from coal industry supporters.
Let's bring in our political analyst Josh Rogan. Josh, first of all is there public appetite in the United States for this? Do Americans care
about climate change?
JOSH ROGAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, there's a growing awareness and consensus that climate change is real and there's a growing recognition
that there needs to be something about it, but that's where sort of the agreement ends.
We're in an environment now that is colored by two main frames; one is the Presidential campaign and if you saw today every single Republican GOP
candidate soundly rejected the President's proposal even before it was launched.
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ROGAN: That's because the politics of this issue are still completely polarized. On the Republican side you have any range of opinions from Jeb
Bush who says that the climate change is real but we don't need to do this. To Ted Cruz who disputes the science of climate change all together.
So while there's you know an increased, as with lots of other issues, awareness of this issue, there's still no consensus about how to move
forward. The fact that the President is leveling such an ambitious and involved plan this late in his presidency is sure to create a firestorm
inside both the Presidential election but also on Capitol Hill where Senator Mitch McConnell has launched a pre-emptive campaign against it.
GORANI: And so that's going to be - that was going to be my next question. The timing; why now for President Obama? Clearly he wants this - he wants
this to be part of his Presidential legacy but why now? Time is running out, if a republican is elected in 2016 then what?
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ROGAN: Well that's exactly the point is that the President is going through his list, some people call it his bucket list, of what he wants to
accomplish, the things that he promised when he campaigned originally in 2007 and 2008.
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ROGAN: And climate change was near the top of that list along with healthcare, along with immigration, along with closing Guantanamo, ending
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and reaching out to adversaries like Iran and Cuba. This is something the President simply feels very strongly
about.
In this last quarter of his presidency he's made a decision to move forward on all of these items without congressional buy in up front. It's a risky
strategy because he knows that the next President or the next congress could undo a lot of what he's trying to accomplish.
[15:05:00] But his theory of the case is that by moving as boldly and quickly as possible now he can change facts on the ground in the next 18
months to make it as much of a fait accompli as possible. So that no matter who the next President is, and no matter who the next congress is
there will be enough momentum to keep this plan afloat toward its target dates. Whether or not he's going to be able to actually do that remains to
be seen.
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GORANI: Well it might force the issue in the Presidential campaign, we'll see if that indeed happens. Josh Rogan, thanks we always love having you
on the program. Josh Rogan joining us there.
ROGAN: Any time.
GORANI: For analysis there on President Obama's clean environmental plan and environmental proposal, the Clean Power Plan. By the way I'll be
speaking to one of the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy, she introduced the U.S. President just a few minutes ago, she'll
be joining us on the program a little bit later.
Let us turn our attention now to Greece. It's in the news again because the Athen's stocks index essentially fell off a cliff at the open today.
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GORANI: It lost more than 20% of its value almost right away and you can see that sharp drop at the start of the graph there. This was the first
time the market had been open for business in five weeks after being shut down during the financial crisis.
At the close it had lost a little more than 16%.
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GORANI: To help us better understand what this means for Greece's economy, let's go to my colleague, Richard Quest, who joins us now from New York,
host of Quest Means Business.
Richard, it was expected but in the end after five weeks of closure and all the drama that unfolded in Greece, the fact that the main stock index in
Athens closed 16% lower, I mean should we see that actually as a positive?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: No absolutely not. The banks were down 30% limit down in many cases. The National (inaudible)
Bank and the like they were down, limit down. And the stock market had priced in and had been down over many weeks even before as all the
hullabaloo got underway.
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QUEST: Hala, I think the most serious thing about today is not what happened in the stock market, it was by far and away the purchasing
manager's index numbers, the factory orders, which are the lowest on record. And those are more significant because they show that during the
week that the banks were closed, and indeed that the stock market's been closed, the Greek economy basically seized up. And we're now looking at a
recession of at least 4% this year according to the European Union. All of which means that whatever misery the Greek people have had ladled onto them
so far, there's more to come.
GORANI: All right, we'll keep our eye on Greece and I know you'll be covering that of course very much the next hour.
Let's talk about that rate - that bank rate fixing scandal, the Libor rate rigging.
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GORANI: Someone has finally been jailed over this, tell us more about that.
QUEST: Tom Hayes has been jailed for 14 years.
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QUEST: The judge basically made it quite clear he hadn't had any time at all for the excuses or reasons and defense that was being put forward.
(Inaudible) claimed he had Aspergers, he claimed there was some confusion over the way the case was going.
But the long and short of it was that the evidence showed that he had asked various other counterparts in different banks to so arrange it so that he
would get a particular interest rate, so called Libor rate.
It was one of the most egregious forms of bank fiddling and rate fixing that we'd ever seen. But here's the point about it Hala, this is the
biggest, deepest sentence that we've seen for this sort of action. And it sends a message and there are many more cases in the pipeline, 14 years is
a long time to go to prison.
GORANI: All right, Richard Quest, we'll see you at the top of the hour on Quest Means Business.
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GORANI: Behind closed doors in Paris a short time ago investigators met to work out crucial details of the test on the Boeing 777 debris found on
Reunion Island.
The plane flaperon arrived to a laboratory in Toulouse during the weekend. The analysis is expected to begin Wednesday, so two days from now. The
central question officials and the world want to know is this debris, we've all seen the pictures wash up on the shores of Reunion, is it from Malaysia
Airlines flight 370.
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GORANI: MH370 vanished in March of last year with 239 people on board and has since become one of the biggest aviation mysteries in recent memories.
Saima Mohsin is live outside Toulouse with the very latest. What's going on right now where you are with regards to the debris with any tests
unfolding? What's the situation right now?
SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Hala, just right now the activity isn't actually happening at this lab. The people who have
flown in from right around the world to be a part of this investigation have just a short while ago wrapped up a meeting in Paris at the Paris
Prosecutor's Office.
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[15:10:07] MOHSIN: Now a lot of questions as you say about people impatient to know whether this really is MH370, and people are wondering
why it's taking so long to decide on that and do the tests that need to be done.
Now, and that is simply because there are so many bodies from right around the world involved. The United States NTSB, Malaysian officials, French
officials, and a new addition over the weekend, Hala, officials from China want to be a part of that group too. So they have now flown in.
They've had their first meeting today, now in that meeting they shared information we understand about their own investigations individual
investigations so far. And then they agreed on how they want to proceed, what tests they want to conduct. And such is the nature of the sensitivity
and the delicacy of this operation that even when the flaperon was brought here it was brought in a sealed container with a police escort, Hala.
It was driven straight into this lab and it's being kept there until all those people come down here. Why? And that is because aviation experts
tell us it cannot be opened by anyone else until all the bodies involved in this investigation are present. It may well be filmed as has been the case
in air crash investigations in the past.
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MOHSIN: And as they break it down piece by piece, they're likely to do sonograms, x-rays, take it apart slowly to try and identify Hala, not just
is it a part of MH370 but also how did that plane go down. Hala?
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GORANI: But I'm just a little confused here. Is it not the case that what they need to do is match a serial number on that piece of debris to a
serial number that is known by Malaysia Airlines to determine whether or not this piece of debris came from MH370? Is it - because it's my
understanding it is actually that simple.
So why is it taking so long? I mean I understand the administrative delays but if it's that simple why is it taking so long?
MOHSIN: Yes and that is the question we've all been asking here and not least the passenger's families who are desperate for some information.
Now yes, they can likely match those numbers up to an aircraft, and they have already confirmed over the weekend that yes they believe it's a
flaperon from a 777 aircraft. They are still being cautious Hala until as I say everyone has to be present and see that for themselves and agree that
they want to attach it to MH370.
Now there can be room for maneuvers, all the experts we speak to one has one opinion another has another. Now some people are saying well look
sometimes parts are swapped around and a lot of people say well Boeing should have accounted for that and they should be able to tell from the
serial numbers.
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MOHSIN: But, this is also a criminal investigation and that is why the French Prosecutor's office is involved because there is a manslaughter case
regarding if hi-jacking and terrorism was involved. And that is why they have to simply wait until everyone is present here on Wednesday, Hala.
GORANI: All right, Saima Mohsin will continue to follow this story and as Saima was mentioning the families and indeed the world waiting to know if
this piece of debris is or was a part of the MH370 Boeing 777.
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GORANI: Still to come tonight, a desperate situation in Myanmar; dozens are killed, hundreds of thousands displaced. Monsoon floods are ravaging
the country.
And later in the show how this stretch of the French Riviera and a visit from the Saudi King caused a whole lot of controversy.
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[15:15:56] GORANI: Welcome back, mourners in Israel have laid to rest a 16 year old girl who was stabbed during a gay pride parade in Jerusalem.
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GORANI: Shira Banki was buried today in a private service, she was only in high school. She died of her wounds during the weekend and police say that
an ultra-orthodox Jew stabbed Banki and five others at last week's gay pride march.
Israel's Prime Minister calls it a despicable crime and says he will not allow the killer to undermine Israel's fundamental values.
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GORANI: Israel is also under pressure to combat Jewish extremism targeting Palestinians.
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GORANI: You'll remember just days ago a Palestinian baby was burned and killed when suspected Settlers fire bombed his home in the West Bank;
there's his funeral.
Israel's Government called it terrorism and President Reuvin Rivlin has been especially scathing in his condemned nation. He wrote on Facebook
"more than shame I feel pain. The pain over the murder of a little baby. The pain over my people choosing the path of terrorism and losing their
humanity. Their path is not the path of the State of Israel." He wrote.
President Rivlin received online assassination threats after those remarks, some people calling him a traitor and some people calling him much worse
than that. Israeli police are investigating the threats.
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GORANI: To Myanmar now a country devastated by monsoon floods. At least 47 people are dead and as many as 200,000 are displaced. As Anna Coren
tells us that number could go much higher as rescuers reach more remote areas in the country.
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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Myanmar is no stranger to severe flooding during the monsoon season but this year the waters are
extraordinary.
Dozens have been killed with more than 200,000 families displaced and UN teams on the ground say this is just the beginning of a humanitarian
disaster.
The full extent is unknown with many of the worst hit areas cut off and inaccessible.
EAMONN MURPHY: UN HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR MYANMAR: t's affected by rivers chocked with debris and that makes it all that much more difficult
in areas that are difficult to access in the best of conditions.
COREN: To demonstrate just how much water there is, a local news reporter filed his report from the middle of what should have been a busy street.
Four areas in central and western Myanmar have been declared natural disaster zones by the Government which has mobilized the army to lead
rescue efforts. But torrential rain and flooding as a result of the Asian monsoon has also affected neighboring India and Bangladesh claiming dozens
of lives.
Vietnam also hit by the worst flooding in 40 years. While international aid is starting to arrive to some of Myanmar's desperate communities,
humanitarian organizations are pleading for more help.
The government has been criticized for a slow and inadequate response failing to learn from the natural disaster in 2008 caused by Cyclone Nargis
that left at least 140,000 people dead.
MURPHY: We've got to prevent more loss of life, we're got to get supplies to the people now that are immediately affected and then help them in
rebuilding; not just stop immediately after the first part of the crisis, but we have to help them rebuild their own lives.
COREN: An enormous challenge for an impoverish country that knows the worst isn't over.
Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
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GORANI: Well it's not just Asia that is suffering from extreme weather conditions.
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GORANI: In the United States almost two dozen very large wildfires are burning in areas that already are dealing with drought in California.
Here's the problem there are gusty winds in the forecast that could aggravate everything. More than 9,000 firefighters are battling the blazes
with 12,000 people evacuated from their homes.
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[15:20:08] GORANI: Let's go live to that part of California, Stephanie Elam, is there. What's the situation now Stephanie there?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Hala, I'm at the rocky fire which is the largest fire that they are battling here in this
state. This one is some 60,000 acres, it is 12% contained which is an improvement from yesterday which was just 5%. I can also tell you that
this fire is affecting some 12,000 people that they've evacuated.
It's burned down some 24 homes and some other buildings. We're told about 50 buildings that have been lost because of this fire.
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ELAM: So it is a very dynamic fire, it keeps changing overnight and it exploded quickly over the weekend.
If you take a look behind me here you can see that there's some fire up here on this hillside. What you see there, you may see them in the shot or
some firefighters that are out there, they just started this fire here and the reason why they're doing that is because the fire in the afternoon will
change direction based on the wind and will likely come this direction where we are standing. And what they want to do is to get rid of any fuel
that's there on the hillside and by fuel I mean dry, dry, brush. And it's so dry because of this historic drought that California is in the middle of
right now. So without that water it's very easy for the embers to just pick up and fly to the next place, and the next place.
So they figured out if they burn this down then they can help control the fire that way. So the firefighters are actually doing this on purpose
because they like to control them around these highways because those are already delineations in the land where they want to keep the fire from
jumping from one side to the other.
But really a very hard fire to fight. It's about 100 degrees out here during the day and in the afternoon those fires tend to flame back up and
they're a challenge for those firefighters to get out. Some 3,000 firefighters almost who were out about battling just this one blaze, Hala.
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GORANI: We know there's a huge issue with a big drought in California. I mean are firefighters telling you that this is making their job a lot
harder or are they confident that they're equipped that they have what they need to confront this and conquer these fires?
ELAM: They do feel like they're equipped, they get help. And there's a great system in California where if there is a fire battling - raging in
one part of the state they will pull from the other part so they get help and they have system that no other state has. They're able to do that,
they can also get help from the National Guard, they can pull in resources from where they need them to battle these fires. But you're right, one
issue, one thing that you really need is water.
Water's what puts out fires. You know fire retardant, it stops a line but it doesn't put them out so they need more water in order to do that. Now
they do have the resources they're pulling in. You see the DC10 coming in, a big airplane dropping fire retardant, dropping water. You see the
helicopter's doing that as well. But really with the wind changing as they are and the humidity during the day the humidity comes down and that dry,
dry air along with this breeze you may be able to see here, that's what's making it so hard to fight this fire.
GORANI: OK, thanks very much Stephanie Elam, in California there reporting on these wildfires that are raging in that state.
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GORANI: And California not the only state by the way with some pretty crazy weather.
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GORANI: Take a look at this whopper of a tornado in Iowa, one of several reported on Sunday. It was in a rural area near Des Moines. There was
some damage however thankfully no injuries reported. It's like something out of a movie.
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GORANI: Coming up, Puerto Rico on the brink.
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GORANI: Is the tiny Caribbean island set to be the next Greece? We look closer as it stands just hours from default.
Plus, could it be the beginning of the end of voicemail? I almost never listen to my voicemails anymore. Maybe Apple's trying to tap into that.
It could be planning to kill it off for good.
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[15:25:07] GORANI: All right here's a look at the Dow Jones. It's a down day this Monday, down 151 points so far this session.
NASDAQ and the wider market, the S&P, here's a look at the numbers also down, and it was a mixed picture in Europe.
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GORANI: It's been described as America's Greece. The tiny U.S. island territory of Puerto Rico.
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GORANI: That's because it's expected to miss a $58 million debt payment due just hours from now. That could send the island into its first ever
default. But that payment is just a tiny fraction of Puerto Rico's bigger problem, the total debt bill of some $70 billion.
Business Correspondent, Samuel Burke joins me now from New York.
All right, now let's talk about this Greece comparison, is it fair?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, on the surface it seems fair because much like Greece they just spent more money than they had.
But when you look underneath the surface, the factors that led to this whole debt debacle are actually quite different for Puerto Rico.
Beginning in 2004 when they had a real estate crisis, well before we had the crisis with real estate here in mainland United States.
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BURKE: But then if you look at 2006, they say that this is really the heart of what caused Puerto Rico's problems.
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BURKE: They lost a U.S. tax break that made it - gave them great incentives to make lots of manufacturing goods. Then after that, Puerto
Rico they're also required to U.S. ships to send any goods here to mainland United States, so that puts them really at an unfair advantage to other
places like Mexico, their Latin American neighbors that doesn't have to get anything over water and doesn't have to use U.S. transportation to do it.
On top of all that they enjoy what's called triple tax-free bonds. So you can avoid taxes on three different levels legally. So that's had investors
pouring money in but again that gets back to the whole overspending, over lending problem that Puerto Rico faces.
At the end of the day they're not asking for a bail out from the Federal Government. What they want is whatever other United States State has and
that's Chapter 9 bankruptcy rights. But of course Puerto Rico is not a state, it is a Commonwealth.
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BURKE: So that's what they're fighting for right now and they're going to default, they already said this. They missed their payment on Saturday and
in the next couple of hours it's close of business Monday and they will default on this part of the debt.
GORANI: All right, and let's talk - I was discussing this before the break here because I can't remember the last time I actually left a voicemail.
BURKE: Your mom doesn't leave you voicemails like my mom?
GORANI: My mom actually whatsapp me which is ...
BURKE: Oh wow.
GORANI: Which is yes we've graduated to whatsapp, and text, which is amazing. But I just don't leave voicemails anymore and it looks like Apple
is trying to kill off traditional voicemail maybe because trend wise they realize it's you know it's not where things are going.
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GORANI: Business insiders are reporting that Siri, that's the digital assistant on the iPhone will soon be able to answer your calls for you and
transcribe text messages and then text it to you.
So is that going to be the new thing now?
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BURKE: That's right - that's right. I mean I guess I need to get some training tips from you because my voicemail's filled with messages from my
mom, it's so annoying 'cause she's the only person who leaves them anymore so I have to go through. But the truth is I wouldn't be surprised if Apple
does this because Google has already been doing this for years.
They have a program called Google Voice, an app that works on ios and android. And sometimes it's really good and sometimes it's not.
So I actually have an example, I've been using it, I'll just put it up on screen for you so you can see this Hala.
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BURKE: It hears the voicemail, here's somebody else's voice that it may not know that well, so here's an example of one that it wrote out for me.
Hi Samuel Mrs. (Canny Segal Suzanne) Blake's boyfriend, if you could send me the notes about the (fishier) ding at the wedding, I was at the wedding
that you would appreciate it that I want it. Let me talk to you. You were - the last time I talked to you you were leaving for London.
So sometimes it gets it perfectly and sometimes it's (fishier ding wedding) completely off. So I mean maybe Apple will have an advantage, they've had
more time and maybe Siri will be better at this.
GORANI: Maybe.
BURKE: But it definitely needs a little bit of improvement from what I've used so far.
GORANI: So you're saying there was not a (fishier ding) at the wedding.
BURKE: Not at this one, but it is amazing ...
GORANI: ... not at that wedding.
BURKE: It is amazing how much Siri knows because if I say Hala Gorani, or Christiane Amanpour which aren't very common names, Siri knows that you
guys are in my address book and will write them out perfectly so maybe Siri getting to know people and the interesting names that some of our friends
have, maybe it'll have an advantage over some of the other technology that's out there, Hala Gorani.
GORANI: All right, we'll know soon enough. Samuel Burke, thanks very much.
And before we take a break we want to show you some incredible pictures now from the Netherlands.
GORANI: A crane was moving a part of the bridge in the town, and I hope I'm pronouncing this right of Alphen aan den Rijn, sorry in Holland if I
mispronounced this, but this is what happened, take a look.
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[15:30:07] GORANI: Oh dear, well thankfully no-one was killed. 20 people were injured though and that's according to emergency services. Several of
them seriously. We hope they all recover.
The latest world news headlines just ahead.
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GORANI: Plus much more on the U.S. President's ambitious effort to clean up the environment. We'll speak with the Administrator of the agency
behind the newly unveiled plan.
Plus we'll take you to the Southern Indian Ocean where a CNN team just accompanied a search crew hoping to find more MH370 plane debris.
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GORANI: Welcome back, here's a look at our top stories. The American President, Barack Obama, says the world may not be able to reverse global
warming if immediate action is not taken to stop it.
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GORANI: A short time ago he unveiled a new plan meant to combat climate change. It requires American power plants to cut greenhouse gas emissions
by about a third and that by the year 2030.
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GORANI: Also among the top stories this day, the Athens stock market saw 20% of its value wiped away within minutes of its re-opening on Monday.
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GORANI: It came after the market had been closed for five weeks during the financial crisis. At the close the market was down about 16%.
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GORANI: Aviation officials met a short time ago in Paris.
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GORANI: To sort out the details for the examination of airplane debris found last week in the Indian Ocean. They are of course trying to
determine if that flaperon found on Reunion Island is from Malaysian Airlines flight 370.
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GORANI: Migrants made around 1,700 attempts to break into the U.K. from France overnight.
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GORANI: According to news agencies who are citing a local police union as part of an ongoing crisis that the two countries are struggling to cope
with as the wave of migrants tries to reach Britain through the Channel Tunnel.
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GORANI: Let's return now to our top story; an initiative that U.S. President Obama calls the biggest most important step we have ever taken to
combat climate change. He spoke with urgency today when he unveiled tough new regulations and a plan to tackle climate change at the White House,
listen.
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PRESIDENT OBAMA: But this is one of those rare issues because of its magnitude, because of its scope, that if we don't get it right we may not
be able to reverse. And we may not be able to adapt sufficiently. There is such a thing as being too late when it comes to climate change.
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GORANI: Well our next guest introduced Mr. Obama at that news conference. Gina McCarthy, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
the EPA in the United States, and she joins me now live from the White House.
Thanks Ms. McCarthy for joining us. First of all what - the details of the plan we know that the goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 32% by 2030,
what impact would that have on the environment on the air that people breathe if indeed these goals are met?
[15:35:00] GINA MCCARTHY, ADMINISTRATOR, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: Well thanks for having me here. This clean power plant is the
biggest step forward that this country has ever taken to take action on climate change and to protect our kids' future in the planet.
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MCCARTHY: It's going to result in significant reductions in carbon pollution from the power sector, the biggest driver of climate change. And
it's also going to bring its significant reductions of traditional pollutants that cause soot and smog. So we're going to get direct public
health benefits and we're going to take a historic step forward to actually address climate change in an aggressive but reasonable and reliable way.
GORANI: But you have states that rely so much on coal for their energy, to power their plants, I mean I'm talking about the Washington State would
have to cut emissions by 72% in 15-20 years. I mean is it realistic?
MCCARTHY: Sure it is. The reason why I know it's realistic is we did unprecedented outreach. We work with states, we work with utilities. This
is a creative approach to actually work with them to make sure that we're reducing carbon pollution as we've done with every other pollutant in a way
that's reasonable and affordable and it will keep our energy sector reliable.
This is not just about what one state does. It opens up opportunities across the country for more renewable energy, for energy efficiency. Every
energy - every fuel will still stay in the mix but there are opportunities that we have that are reasonable and affordable to drive down that carbon
pollution in ways that will keep the lights on.
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GORANI: But you're going to have issues with potentially litigation, you might have issues with state governors that simply ignore the targets or
the plan. You might also have bigger issues if there's a Republican in the White House in 2017 because so many of the candidates have already come out
against this particular plan to combat carbon emission.
I mean this is an uphill battle, right?
MCCARTHY: No, it is - it is - it has been a battle and we'll continue to work with everybody. But the important thing to remember is the
environment has not been a bipartisan issue and we are going to continue to work no matter where you are and what party you're in to convince people
that this is the right step forward.
But the most important thing is if you look at history we've been working with the Clean Air Act for 40 years and every time we've heard similar
criticisms and every time those criticisms have been proven unfounded. We have reduced air pollution by 70% over a time when our GDP has tripled.
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MCCARTHY: We can do this, we can do this together. And because of the - all the work we did before we even put pen to paper, we know we can get
this right, and we know we have. All we need to do is stay committed, stay focused, and work together.
GORANI: And Gina McCarthy, I don't have to tell you this there's a huge important possibly historic climate meeting in Paris at the end of this
year. Copenhagen in 2009 didn't go so well. Do you think that the fact that this plan has been presented by the President will change things?
Will make this particular meeting in Paris a success because it's not just a U.S. problem, it's a world problem as you say.
MCCARTHY: Yes it is a world problem and I think the President has recognized that and he knew that if we really want a global solution we
have to start and take strong domestic action. This is that historic step that will tell the rest of the world that we can do this together and we
have a moral responsibility to act.
But also with this rule we're showing that it can be done, that it's reasonable, that it's affordable, that it's a path forward to grow the
economy and grow jobs. We can make this happen and we're going to show the world that it's a step that we can take together.
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GORANI: All right, Gina McCarthy, the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator of EPA, thanks very much for joining us on CNN this evening.
MCCARTHY: It's great to be here, thanks.
GORANI: OK, and don't forget you can get all the interviews and analysis including this one.
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GORANI: This important debate on our Facebook page. You can find it facebook.com/halagoranicnn.
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GORANI: This story out of China troubling because it's not the first time it's happened. A man in China has had an accident with one of those
shopping center escalators and in this case he lost his lower leg. It was amputated after it got caught in the escalator.
Some viewers may find the pictures of the accident that we are about to show disturbing. What is also troubling as I mention is that it happened
to a woman who lost her life in a different shopping mall.
Robyn Curnow has the details.
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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERANATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The latest escalator accident victim, a 35 year old man cleaning this Shanghai shopping mall.
Surveillance video shows him mopping at the top of the escalator platform when one of the metal floor panels gives way and his leg becomes trapped.
Emergency workers were able to rescue him but his left foot was crushed and had to be amputated.
[15:40:05] Speaking from his Hospital bed Zhang Shisheng says I fell forward and the escalator was running, it suddenly pulled my foot inside.
Local authorities are investigating. State media reports the man violated safety rules by not shutting the escalator down before cleaning it.
This is the third serious escalator related incident in the past week. A toddler in South West China suffered multiple injuries including a broken
arm after falling on an escalator. And a 30 year old mother was killed after she fell through an escalator panel at a mall in Jingzhou.
She was able to push her young son to safety before she was pulled to her death. A local official blames human error and a lack of staff training
for what happened.
The recent spate of incidents has led to numerous videos on social media showing worried Chinese shoppers tiptoeing on and around escalators.
Chinese Government statistics show there were 49 escalator or elevator related accidents last year. 37 of them fatal.
Authorities say most of the deaths were caused by improper use and only eight were caused by equipment problems.
Robyn Curnow, CNN.
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GORANI: This is the World Right Now. Coming up they're holding out more potential.
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GORANI: They're holding out hope I should say more potential clues could be in the waters around them. Just ahead the volunteers who are looking
for possible pieces of MH370 off Reunion Island.
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GORANI: There's a new flurry of activity on the normally tranquil islands of the Southern Indian Ocean.
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GORANI: Ever since the discovery of debris from a Boeing 777 people are trying to see if there could be other potential clues out there that could
be related to MH370.
Our Erin McLaughlin accompanied a search team off the coast of Reunion Island, here's her report.
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They look official and they want to help. This crew of five is normally focused on sea rescue
such as boats in distress or diving accidents but ever since the flaperon washed up on the shores of Reunion Island they've been on the lookout for
anything that resembles a plane.
Like all the boats out look it's a small vessel with basic equipment, no hi-technology here just radios and word of mouth.
CECILE DUPRE, PRESIDENT SAUVETAGE EN MER: Everybody knows everybody in this Island more or less all the people are related to the sea, they know
each other and I know that the minute somebody will see something we'll know it.
MCLAUGHLIN: These searchers are all volunteers, they're electricians, scientists, retirees, this is what they do for fun after work. They say
the ocean is their passion and they want to help in the search of MH370 that has now come to their shore.
Just over that way is the beach where they found the flaperon, do people on this island feel a connection to MH370?
[15:45:12] DUPRE: They do because everybody was so shocked by the way this plane disappeared without any explanation, it's a rare case.
MCLAUGHLIN: These patrols aren't scheduled just as they say the sea is on its own timetable. Today there's no signs of a plane, no signs of MH370.
These volunteers say they'll remain vigilant in the days and weeks ahead.
Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Reunion Island.
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GORANI: The disappearance of MH370 is one of aviation's great mysteries and for the families of those who were on board it's been an agonizing
wait. Will Ripley reports from Beijing.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anger is growing for the families in Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 demanding this meeting with
Chinese transport officials.
You just say whatever you want she says. More than 500 days on they're tired of crying, tired of waiting, waiting that's not over even if debris
suspected from the missing plane offers new clues.
STEVE WANG, SON OF MH370 PASSENGER: Just that it is from MH370 but it doesn't mean anything more. You know you still cannot help you to find the
plane and it still cannot help you to find the truth about what happened and why.
RIPLEY: Steve Wang hasn't spoken his mother's name since the day she and 238 others disappeared. Wang keeps her photo private along with her last
message asking him to bring her coat to the airport.
Do you still listen to the voicemail she left you?
WANG: Sometimes, sometimes.
RIPLEY: When did you listen to it last?
WANG: Wednesday evening?
RIPLEY: You listened to it on Wednesday when you heard about the debris?
WANG: Yes.
RIPLEY: New evidence washing ashore on Reunion Island forces families to face a new wave of agony.
I feel so sorry for my two grandsons, what have they done wrong asks (Sian MaeLing). China's one child policy allowed (Jong) and her husband just one
daughter who was flying home with their only son-in-law.
Not a minute has passed without me thinking of them she says. (Jong) says he once tried getting information at the Malaysian Airlines office. Police
detained her for eight hours. More than 150 Chinese were on MH370. China's Communist Party discourages families from gathering and protesting
as they did after the plane vanished. The assistance center in Beijing closed.
RIPLEY: What do you need?
WANG: The truth.
RIPLEY: Wang says the discovery of suspected MH370 debris doesn't bring closure.
WANG: I think the only closure will come at a time when they find the plane and find everybody, and find the truth.
RIPLEY: His biggest fear, the search will slow, the spotlight will fade. And the families of 239 people will be left as they are today, still
waiting.
Will Ripley, CNN, Beijing.
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GORANI: Coming up the beach in Southern France.
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GORANI: Maybe fit for a king the one you see here but the Saudi king has now left there after an uproar over something that happened on its sandy
shores. Stay with us.
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GORANI: Well a leaked blood test database is casting suspicion on the winners of several Olympic events.
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GORANI: German and British media have been reporting that athletes with suspicious doping test results won a third of all medals awarded at major
competitions between 2001 and 2012.
The Head of the International Olympic Committee has promised a "zero tolerance" approach if the allegations are true.
[15:50:12] Let's get to Patrick Snell, he joins me now live from CNN Center. What happens now Patrick?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks Hala, certainly the world's media. People at large who follow the sport of athletics Hala
following this one very, very intensely indeed. This is the key period, the 11 year period between 2001 and 2012. A reported total of 12,000 blood
samples, the total of 12,000 blood samples allegedly taken from the IAAF centering on 5,000 athletes with 800 of them producing reportedly abnormal
tests.
Now the IOC President who you just referenced there, Thomas Bach is pledging that his body will get tough if these allegations are in fact
proven.
THOMAS BACH, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE PRESIDENT: If there should be cases involving results at Olympic Games, the IOC will act with zero
tolerance in there with our usual policy. But at this time we have nothing more than allegations and we have to respect the presumption of innocence
for the athletes.
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SNELL: Now of course abnormal test results Hala, don't necessarily mean doping. Of course that's quite clear. The reaction has been coming in.
The reaction pouring in of course on social media.
But also from other bodies as well, namely from the outgoing President of the IAAF who denies that his body has been in any way negligent, to use his
word lax in his approach to this. Let's hear now from the (inaudible) Lamine Diack.
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LAMINE DIACK, IAAF, PRESIDENT: (As translated) There are allegations made but no evidence. We want to look into them seriously because to say that
in athletics between 2001 and 2012 that we did not do a serious job with tests is laughable.
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SNELL: If that key word there it's been doing the rounds certainly playing out very, very prominently as I said earlier Hala on social media. And
this is a huge body blow overall to a sport that of course has had its fair share of controversies over the years and particularly when you factor in
this; that a little later on this month, the month of August, we are staged, the world is staged for the World Athletics Championships to take
place in the Chinese capital, Beijing, Hala. Back to you.
GORANI: All right, so the world anti-doping agency is alarmed, there are reports that perhaps doping may have contributed to some medals over these
years. When will we know for sure a, and b, will we have names attached to any revelations?
SNELL: Well this of course is what people want to know. The timeline, the key timeline here is what we're all waiting for.
But right now I just want to refer you back to this is allegations, these are allegations only at this point and as we just heard from Thomas Bach,
it's a question of finding out. Studies are ongoing, investigations are ongoing, what exactly if anything will be proven here. And I think what's
key also is the race for the next President. The next President of the IAAF. Who will replace Lamine Diack as well? The front runner Seb Coe,
Lord Coe, as well and the former Ukrainian pole vaulter as well, Sergey Bubka very much in the running for that.
So it's just a question of who will replace Lamine Diack, that's absolutely vital to this and then we should get a better timeline on how exactly this
is all going to unplay and unfold Hala.
GORANI: All right, Patrick, thanks very much.
And another story that has dominated sporting headlines, the corruption scandal at FIFA.
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GORANI: And it seems to have no interest to world footballer of the year, Christiano Ronaldo, he was speaking to CNN in Espanola where he was asked
about the scandal. Here's his reaction.
CHRISTANO RONALDO: (INAUDIBLE - SPANISH)
GORANI: Well he doesn't want to bother him he says. The Real Madrid star was then asked about the controversial Qatar World Cup in 2022, what was
his response? There you go.
(INAUDIBLE - SPANISH)
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[15:55:04] GORANI: I don't think you need to be able to speak Spanish to understand that he wasn't too happy about that question. There you go.
The King of Saudi Arabia definitely does not travel light. He arrived on the French Riviera with a vast entourage some say up to 1,000 people and
after some pretty big construction work to transform a public beach into one just for him. All that caused a public uproar so he has cut his
holiday short. Take a look.
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GORANI: It was expected to be a three week vacation but after just eight days in the French Riviera, King Salman of Saudi Arabia and hundreds of his
entourage have moved on.
The king's arrival a little more than a week ago caused uproar in Vallauris, which lies between Cannes and Antibes on the French Riviera.
It's a destination home to many exclusive resorts and marinas and it's also where the Saudi King Salman owns a villa.
But ahead of the Saudi king's arrival last month workers started sealing off the strip of public beach in front of his villa. They began installing
a gate to block a tunnel providing the only access and even started work on an elevator linking the villa to the beach.
Outraged 150,000 locals signed a petition against the closure of the beach. However not everyone was unhappy. Some welcomed the arrival of the wealthy
royal and his thousand strong entourage.
ANDREE MILLION, MARKET TRADER: (As translated) I think that for the town of Cannes economy it's a good thing because it brings lots of people.
MICHEL CHEVILLON, HOTEL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION: (As translated) Thanks to the arrival at the end of July of these Middle Eastern clients we can
expect a 15 to 20% increase in business compared to last year.
GORANI: The economic boost might have been shorter than expected. On Sunday the King flew from Nice to Tangiers in Morocco, and on Monday, the
public beach at Vallauris was open to the public once more.
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GORANI: This has been The World Right Now, thanks to all of you for watching, I'm Hala Gorani, Quest Means Business is on the other side of
this break, stay with CNN.
END
