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Hala Gorani Tonight

World Leaders Pledge To Stop Deforestation And Cut Methane Emissions; Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini Indicted On Fraud Charges; Ethiopian Government Declares A Nationwide State Of Emergency; South Africa To Move Away From Coal; Afghan Girls For Sale; Nigeria Buildings Collapse Kills At Least 10. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired November 02, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone, live from CNN in London, I'm HALA GORANI TONIGHT. Landmark announcements from COP26 as countries pledge to

end deforestation and slash methane emissions. Are the promises enough? Are they workable? We'll be live from Glasgow.

Then we're expecting to hear from the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson any moment as he addresses leaders on the climate crisis. And later,

Ethiopia announces a nation-state of emergency as Tigrayan rebels make gains. We'll bring you the very latest on that story. It is the final major

day at the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, when that many say could be humanity's last real chance to stop catastrophic climate change.

World leaders reflecting what many say is a new sense of urgencies, have agreed on two major actions, they are promises at this stage, a commitment

to ending and reversing the destruction of forests around the world, and a deal by more than 80 countries to cut global methane emissions by 30

percent all by the end of this decade. U.S. President Joe Biden told the summit, cutting methane is vital to keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees

centigrade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And one of the most important things we can do in this decisive decade is to keep 1.5 degrees in reach,

is reduce our methane emissions as quickly as possible. As already been stated, it's one of the most potent green house gases there is. It amounts

to about half the warming we're experiencing today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: The summit's host, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to make his closing comments to any time now, closing to the world leaders

because COP26 itself continues for about a couple of more weeks. We'll bring you his address as soon as it begins. CNN's Max Foster is in Glasgow

for us this hour with more on these big sweeping pledges made by world leaders today, Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, much bigger sense of positivity, I think today, Hala. We're talking, hammering about how that Paris Accords is

the words and we want to see the action of this COP26. And we saw that to a large extent today just with that announcement on methane between the EU

and the U.S., that's seen as a big move towards that 1.5 degree target. But also, the deforestation plan. So effectively ending deforestation by 2030,

and that's been promised before, of course.

But what we've got here is the big countries with big forests, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia. Those countries signed up to this, but also a huge

amount of money, up to $20 billion in public and private money going towards this. And I caught up with the Colombian president, he actually

said this is a concrete proposal. What he does want to see now is the money come in so he can support the indigenous communities who need some

financial support in order to not, you know, allow that logging to take place illegally in those rain forests.

So, there is some more positivity here, and a lot further teams to work with over the next two weeks after these leaders have gone home. But still

a big question mark, Hala, about that 1.5 degree target kind of really been reached based on what was announced today.

GORANI: And also some promises from richer nations to help alleviate some of the financial stresses of converting their energy sources, their

factories to greener technologies as well. And that's really crucial because some of these countries have not had the opportunity to use

polluting energy to accumulate wealth in the same way developed nations have so far.

FOSTER: Yes, and that's a real theme, and that was again something that the president of Colombia said to me not necessarily just looking at

developing countries expecting them to take all the action, but you know, the team work effectively with western nations. So another example he came

up with was the sort of products that are grown illegally in forested areas, argues in western products. So it also has to come from western

markets or they break the link between those illegal products effectively appearing in legal goods.

So this is something that the whole world has to get involved with. And that sort of money going back to the developing nations to support them, to

build flood defenses, for example --

GORANI: Yes --

FOSTER: To support the indigenous communities and have to give up illegal logging, that's been a big part of this conversations. So, It does feel

like a big progression.

[13:05:00]

GORANI: Certainly. Max Foster, thanks very much. Let's hope these are promises as we mentioned, these promises become reality and they are kept

in the coming years. The president of Palau compared the climate crisis to an attack on island nations, but he said it's even worse than that. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SURANGEL WHIPPS JR. PRESIDENT, PALAU: Frankly speaking, there's no dignity to a slow and painful death. You might as well bomb our islands instead of

making us suffer, only to witness our slow and fateful demise. Leaders of the G20, we are drowning and our only hope is the life ring you are

holding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: So, if these countries that have made these pledges today keep the promises, will it be enough? Before we speak with Bill Weir, let's look at

the promises. First on methane, you can see emissions here in infrared. A top climate panel says they're 25 times more potent than CO2, so, cutting

it could take a big chunk out of green house gases. Then there's the pledge on deforestation. If Brazil follows through, and this is crucial, it could

make a big difference to the Amazon that you see here burning back in 2019, and that is a big "if".

Our chief climate correspondent Bill Weir is in Glasgow with more. So, are we within the 1.5 degrees if these two pledges are kept, or are we still

far off from that, Bill?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: We're still far off from that, Hala. You know, before Paris, the world was headed north of 4 degrees

Celsius, which would have been existential on every level. They've bent the curve now, which is as a result of cheaper renewables, really, and market

forces still headed for about 2.7 to 3 degrees, but that's a far cry from the 1.5 target. If humanity had started this in earnest say around the

year 2000, it would have been, to use a skiing analogy, a bunny slope down.

GORANI: Yes --

WEIR: Now, it's a double black diamond, especially with the dirtiest fuels, coal among them. And methane because it is as you say, so potent in

the short term, the analogy I like to use instead of a green house, is if you imagine a baby in a hot car on a Summer day, the steel and glass

holding in the heat coming through the windshield is the carbon dioxide, but methane is like turning on the heater inside the car aiming --

GORANI: Right --

WEIR: All the vents at the baby. Planet earth, of course, is the baby. So, you can't solve it without tackling this. What's interesting, though, as

you know, the Joe Manchin; the West Virginia senator who is holding up the ambitious climate legislation in the United States says we shouldn't have

to punish coal companies, utility companies from doing what they're already doing. But they're doing it at such a small rate, there's just not enough

time to meet the deadline because once we pass a certain tipping point, scientists believe, that's when all hell breaks loose as the arctic ice

sheets go away, as methane bombs come from melting permafrost. So, that's where the timeline comes in.

GORANI: Of course, China is not there, I mean, they have a delegation, but the Chinese president is not there. And you have many communities that rely

on dirty energy sources for their livelihoods, people in the Amazon, we saw a great report from our David McKenzie in a coal mine in South Africa where

90 percent of the country's fueled on coal. So how do you, quote, unquote, "compensate" people for transitioning to greener technologies when really

this is all they have to make ends meet?

WEIR: That's a fantastic point. In China for example, due to sort of manmade flooding disasters in the last few months that took out -- actually

flooded the coal mines, it prevented them from mining the energy source that's causing the problem and creating higher prices and then a demand for

more coal. China put three times as much online coal capacity online last year than the rest of the world combined. They have so many folks to keep

warm and to power their lives.

You know, a lot of folks talk about quantitative easing like after the big financial crisis in which banks were essentially given public funds to fix

the problem. It looks more and more like you're going to have to pay giant utility companies, mining companies to stop, you know, to leave all of

these things in the ground, and then on top of that provide an alternative for the people depending on those fuel sources --

GORANI: Yes --

WEIR: Again, all of this under a ticking clock.

GORANI: Absolutely, Bill Weir, thanks very much, live in Glasgow, Scotland. Well, all politics is local as the saying goes. That goes for

climate politics as well. There's a school of thought at COP26 that cities, not countries are driving the green movement through public transit and

retrofitting policies among other things. One of those cities is Manchester, England. It's a former industrial power house that boomed in

the 19th century during the industrial revolution.

[13:10:00]

A quintessential industry town with red-brick factories burning coal and smokestacks dotting the skyline. Well, the mayor of Greater Manchester says

that the march to net-zero of carbon emissions is an opportunity, in fact, to re-industrialize the north of England. How exactly? Let's speak to the

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, he joins me now live. So, what do you mean by reindustrializing?

MAYOR ANDY BURNHAM, GREATER MANCHESTER, ENGLAND: I'm talking about bringing the green industries of the future to the north of England. So,

green hydrogen, while handle power on the River Mersey near us in Liverpool or the wind energy that you see being generated on the northeast. The north

of England has a real opportunity to lead the fourth industrial revolution just as we led the first. You know, we've had a period of the

industrialization in the north of England, but I think now, we can kind of come straight back into the game.

And obviously, this wave of industrialization could give people back clean air to breathe and green spaces to enjoy. And I've been very much inspired

by some of the U.S. mayors who were leading in this way, Bill Peduto in Pittsburgh and others. You know, I think we can follow very much in that --

in that same path.

GORANI: Right, because the north of England was depressed for a while after the end obviously of big industries, steel and other industries, for

instance, when those jobs moved overseas. But in order to invest in a new fourth industrial revolution of clean air and green energy, you need money

You need money to train people, you need money to invest in these initiatives. Where will that money come from?

BURNHAM: Well, first and foremost, we are looking to the U.K. government because the U.K. government has recognized the north, south divide in our

country and the need to invest. So, I think that initial investment does need to come from the U.K. government, in our case, from that investment we

can build prosperity going forward. So, you mentioned retrofitting at the start of this interview. Now, that is converting people's homes to make

them zero carbon. There's --

GORANI: Yes.

BURNHAM: A huge opportunity to create thousands of jobs, thousands of jobs for people that would be good jobs for a long time, for the rest of their

lives. And in my time, in the north of England, I've never been able to say to people, if you train in these set of skills, you can have a really good

job for life. So, for me, this isn't about, you know, the -- looking at the cost, I think you need to look at the opportunity that the drive to net-

zero presents. And that's certainly the way I see it and many of my mayoral colleagues in the north of England.

GORANI: You've pledged to make Manchester, Greater Manchester carbon- neutral by 2038 which is very ambitious because it's 12 years earlier than the government target. So how confident are you that you'll hit your target

here?

BURNHAM: Well, we can do it. It's a science-based target, not a political target. So, there's credibility behind it, but we need to move now. And

that's why COP26 is so important. We need to accelerate. And indeed, countries around the world need to accelerate now in the next five years if

we're to hit our targets. But you know, you said it at the start, the cities could be the drivers of change, the early adopters. And I very much

see that to being what Greater Manchester can do. You know, with the right investment, we can create the country's first net-zero public transport

system.

Our trams already run on renewable energy, and then we want to extend that to our buses too. So, you know, we have those plans in place. We just need

to have that backing. And I've been very much inspired by U.S. mayors in this regard --

GORANI: Yes --

BURNHAM: You know, when I became a mayor about four-five years ago, the U.S. had just opted out in Paris, and I went to --

GORANI: Mayor --

BURNHAM: New York at the invitation of Mike Bloomberg, and he told me how the U.S. mayors had opted back in --

GORANI: Mayor Burnham --

BURNHAM: And we took our inspiration from them.

GORANI: I've got to jump in, thank you so much for joining us. Boris Johnson, your prime minister is addressing world leaders now, so we're

going to jump in and listen to that. Thanks so much for joining us.

BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: And climate change. And I think what you could say today after two days of talks with around 120

world leaders, is that we've pulled back a goal, or perhaps even two, and i think we're going to be able to take this thing to extra time because

there's no doubt that some progress has been made. We're ending the great chainsaw massacre with more than 85 percent of the world's forest to be

protected by the end of this decade, an unprecedented agreement by 122 countries now, backed by the biggest ever commitment of public funds for

forest conservation with much more still to come from the private sector.

[13:15:00]

We've got 90 percent of the world's economy working towards net zero, up from less than a third when the U.K. took up the COP reins including India

keeping a billion tons of carbon out of the atmosphere by switching half its power grid to renewable sources. More than a 100 countries have just

signed up to cut their methane emissions by 2030. When we were selected as hosts of COP26, just 1 percent of the world's economy had met the post-

Paris obligation to improve on their 2030 emission targets.

Today, that figure stands at 80 percent. And it's not just that we're putting forward better targets or bigger targets. The world has been

actually putting forth the plans to reach those targets. Billions of dollars have been committed to supporting developing and vulnerable

countries. Big business has stepped up with the launch of the Glasgow breakthroughs this afternoon, and our clean green initiative idea, the

build back better world idea that Joe Biden talks about, it's catching on and it's taking the green industrial revolution worldwide.

For example, we're working with South Africa's President Ramaphosa to deliver his ambitious vision for faster greener growth, and what I would

say is, we've been asking for action as you know on coal, cars, cash and trees. And after just a couple of days, we can certainly begin to tick

three of those boxes if you can begin, we're beginning to write the tick, And that's all happened because we were able to come together in person in

Glasgow and do this. Make it happen at COP26.

And of course, it's only part of the story. Although the U.K. has this week committed a further billion dollars of international climate finance,

taking our total to 12.6 billion pounds. By 2025, 12.6 billion pounds that we're committing to climate funds -- actually, just a few hours ago, Japan

announced another $10 billion over the next five years. A big commitment from Japan. The reality is that the developed world will still be late in

hitting the $100 billion target.

And it's brilliant that so many countries have embraced net zero this week, but we're going to keep working with all the leaders around the world to

get them there sooner, to accelerate their timetable. We've now predicted 85 percent, we've got measures to protect 85 percent of the world's forest

and 90 percent of the world's economy working to net-zero. Those commitments will be 100 percent useless if the promises made here are not

followed up with real action.

As Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados so passionately warned us here yesterday, climate change is not some parochial political issue. For tens

of millions of people around the world, it is literally a matter of life or death. They need -- those economies need 1.5 to survive. So, I'll be

watching proceedings, we'll be watching proceedings very closely to make sure we keep moving forward, and there are no U-turns, no sliding back from

where we've got to. But I think we can be confident about one thing in the days ahead, the couple of weeks we've got.

The clock on the dooms day device that I talked about is still ticking. But we've got a bomb disposal team on site and they're starting to snip the

wires, I hope some of the right wires. And my message to them, to the negotiators is very simple. The leaders of the world may have left or are

leaving COP now, but I can tell you that the eyes of the world, the eyes of the populations of the world are all new, and the eyes of the British

government and all the other governments that care about this are on our negotiators and we have your numbers.

Thank you all very much. I'm going to go to the media now and we'll begin with Laura Kuenssberg of the "BBC".

LAURA KUENSSBERG, BBC: Thank you very much prime minister. The Chinese have said today that there's still significant gaps, we know also that the

leader of the U.N. has said he's worried there isn't enough trust between developing countries and developed countries to be able to get a deal over

the line.

[13:20:00]

You said that the leaders of the world have scored a couple of goals, improved things from 5.1, but what or who is going to score the extra two

or three goals you still need?

JOHNSON: Thank you, Laura. i think that's entirely right in the sense that the issues remain very difficult. We've seen some big moves on tackling

deforestation -- I've talked about, I think the Indian move on de- carbonizing their power system, they're getting towards renewables in the way that they're pledging to do is huge and terrific. I think that the

commitment that Japan made on cash, the $10 billion over five years, that's big money, and that will make a big difference in, you know, engendering

that confidence, Laura.

But I think the crucial thing that is really happening, if it's one thing that starts to give me confident or optimism anyway, is that we are

starting to create for the countries that find it most difficult to transition away from fossil fuels. We're starting to create those

coalitions of support to help them to move on. And so, to help Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa in his -- in his vision, several countries

including the U.K., and are working to supply $8.5 billion to help accelerate that transition away from coal, to help de-carbonize the South

African economy in a major way.

And you're starting to see that kind of approach taken around the world if some of the countries that find it most difficult. And if I have to -- I've

told you I was at -- I was at Paris, and i remember what it was like. And we had this great sense that we had agreed this thing that we were going to

-- we were going to try and cut CO2 together. But it was also a slightly floaty feeling, because we didn't know how on earth we were going to do it.

And there was no roadmap, there was no very clear sense of how you could do it. I think what you're starting to see here at COP26 in Glasgow, is a

sense of how actually you can deliver those cuts in CO2, but you know, I'm not going to disagree with you Laura, there's a long way to go. Anushka

Asthana, "ITV".

GORANI: The U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson there reiterating the pledges made by world leaders during this COP26. The conference continues

for a couple of more weeks with the world leaders have wrapped things up, and this is the closing speech by the British Prime Minister. He talked

about the pledge to halt deforestation and to reduce the production of methane gas emissions all before the end of this decade.

And as an example for how richer countries can assist developing nations to transition to greener technology, he mentioned South Africa and the

commitment to help it transition away from its dependence on coal. We're going to take a quick break, when we come back, actions have consequences.

The U.S. threatens to kick Ethiopia out of a lucrative trade program over the human rights violations that CNN uncovered. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:25:00]

GORANI: Swiss prosecutors have indicted two prominent former international football officials on fraud charges. Switzerland's attorney general accuses

former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and former UEFA President Michel Platini of arranging a payment of 2 million Swiss Francs from FIFA to Platini.

Prosecutors say the arrangement unlawfully enriched Platini and damaged FIFA's assets. Both men have previously denied any wrongdoing.

CNN's senior sports analyst Darren Lewis joins me now with more. So this program I understand started in 2015. What -- you were looking at these --

at some of these payments. How did they come to this conclusion?

DARREN LEWIS, CNN SENIOR SPORTS ANALYST: Well, Hala, it seems to think that this is an issue related to football politics, but it strikes right at

the heart of the sports hides many questions surrounding corruption over the years. And it also involves two of the most charismatic and well-known

figures in the global game. Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini; the former heads of the world and European football governing bodies. And that's what

makes this so significant at the moment.

What had happened back in 2015 was that there was a wide-ranging investigation into corruption. As part of this investigation, there were a

number of raids on certain institutions, and there were charges that both men faced. Now, as you say, they both denied any wrongdoing, but the whole

case against them centers on a written request from Platini to FIFA in January 2011 to be paid back-dated additional salary for working as a

presidential adviser in Blatter's first term from '98 to 2002.

Now, both men say that, that was an agreement, and that there was nothing untoward about it. But prosecutors accuse Blatter of unlawfully arranging

the payment and basically, they have charged both men with fraud. The case could take some months now to come to court, but both men, one time at the

top of their game, now in disgrace.

GORANI: And the reputational damage, I mean, can we see this as a black eye or is it -- oh, finally, these governing bodies are cleaning house?

LEWIS: Well, you know, Hala, you know me. I speak very frankly, and I'll say this. In terms of the image of the organization FIFA, that's been

damaged for some time. We've seen the allegations of vote-rigging in connection with --

GORANI: Yes --

LEWIS: The World Cup in Russia, the World Cup in Qatar. We've had their failure to adequately address racism in stadia around the world and online.

We've had their failure to adequately address the issue of equal pay in the women's game. FIFA's image has been damaged for quite some time, I don't

think this latest controversy will make any difference whatsoever.

GORANI: All right, Darren Lewis, thanks very much. Still to come, a deal that's the first of its kind to help South Africa phase out coal. We were

discussing it at the top of the show, but we'll have details on that next. Plus, a major development in Ethiopia's civil war, we'll see why the

government has just declared a nationwide state of emergency. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

GORANI: A nationwide state of emergency has just been declared in Ethiopia. It comes after forces from Tigray seized two towns into the

capital. That's raising fears they'll now try to advance on the capital itself.

Earlier today authorities ordered residents to register their firearms and prepare to defend their neighborhoods. So really tense atmosphere there.

Larry Madowo is following developments for us.

What's the latest you're hearing from Addis Ababa, the capital, on what's going on there, with residents being asked to take up arms essentially?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a major development out of Addis Ababa. The government fears that those claims by the fighters from the

north about potentially advancing to the city are serious enough that they're asking people to prepare to defend their neighborhoods.

The state of emergency is in place so it can take extra security measures just to make sure the capital is protected. But this is something that

follows on at least two weeks of airstrikes the Ethiopian military has carried out into (INAUDIBLE) and Mekelle that it claims that the Tigray

People's Liberation Front are using to attack it.

(CROSSTALK)

MADOWO: -- that's not true. These are all sites that civilians were hit at. And this was difficult. The U.S. special envoy, Hala, speaking in D.C.

about the U.S. thinking on this conflict, which is marking a year this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY FELTMAN, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HORN OF AFRICA: It is worrisome to see a continuation of military advances by the TPLF, airstrikes by the

government against targets in Tigray that will only increase the human suffering when, in the end, there's going to have to be talks.

So the sooner we get to talks, the better. The fewer people will suffer in Tigray and Amhara the closer we get to talks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: Hala, the U.S. is among many of the international partners who say there's no military solution to this conflict. They have to come to the

table and agree. And until this happens, sanctions will have to be in place to try to get the parties here to cease hostilities and come to table to

talk.

GORANI: So we're talking about the U.S. giving Ethiopia a bit of time here, a bit of leeway here?

What would it like to see happen concretely?

MADOWO: The U.S. is now putting Ethiopia on notice that unless it changes course and starts respecting internationally accepted human rights, it will

pull it out of a major preferential trade deal, the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

[13:35:00]

MADOWO: It allows Ethiopia and many other African countries to export into the U.S. market duty-free. By January 1st, if the U.S. is not satisfied by

what the government, other parts of this conflict have done, it will be out of that and it risks losing a lot of money because Ethiopia exports leather

and apparel and lots of other goods.

If it loses that, it's because it's in contravention of the requirements of what is called AGOA.

GORANI: Thank you, Larry Madowo.

One of the most sensitive issues of the COP26 summit is coal. Industrialized nations want to get rid of it and developing nations say

they can't go without it. To transition away from fossil fuels like coal, someone has to pay for that.

Wealthy nations were supposed to transfer $100 billion a year to the developing world to help with this transition. That hasn't happened. That

might be about to change though.

The U.S., U.K., France, Germany and the E.U. as a whole are now promising to help South Africa step away from coal, a country that's one of the

heaviest polluters per capita on the planet. David McKenzie has that story. David.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Hala. Pledges are one thing and even on this series of meetings, there's been a great deal of

pledges, about forestry, about combating climate change but actual nuts and bolts deals, concrete action with numbers to it is what's critical in

ending the climate crisis.

This deal is promising $8.5 billion over the first three to five years, according to the signatories. And it could be a template for the rest of

the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Treacherous steps into the blackness with illegal miners.

We are going deep into this mine to disused mine but coal is so important in this country that even the old mines people will go down like this in

dangerous conditions and get what they can.

What Anthony Bongingkosi can get just $3 for a bag of coal to support his grandmother and sister. Here they work with little ventilation or light, if

they get trapped, no one will come to help.

ANTHONY BONGINGKOSI, ARTISANAL MINER: We have lost a lot of them, others with the collapse of the mine, others with the gas that came underground.

MCKENZIE: It's dangerous work.

BONGINGKOSI: Yes, it is. When you inhale that gas, you won't move and give 50 or 10 steps you just collapse. You are knocked out.

MCKENZIE: So why do you still do it?

BONGINGKOSI: I don't have a choice, because I have to save my hunger. And not only me, those who follow me. I may die alone here but what about those

who are depending on me?

MCKENZIE: South Africa is a country dependent on coal. With hundreds of thousands of jobs linked to these mines and its monopoly power utility and

shaky economy almost entirely anchored on coal-fired plants. ESKOM is one of Africa's biggest polluters but it's all relative.

South Africa has contributed very little historically to emissions that have caused climate change. Why move away from coal at all?

ANDRE DE RUYTER, GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ESKOM: You know, there is this saying that the Stone Age didn't end because of a lack of stones. I'm

convinced that given current technological trends, the coal age won't end because of a lack of coal.

MCKENZIE: To avoid a climate catastrophe, climate scientists say the renewable age needs to be pushed by the entire world even by countries like

South Africa that contributes around just 1 percent of annual missions globally.

UNKNOWN: ESKOM has made a decision, not anymore.

MCKENZIE: To commit to the transition ESKOM say it will shut down aging coal plants like Komati.

What will it mean when the last monitor goes off for you?

MARCUS NEMADODZI, GENERAL MANAGER, KOMATI: Man, it's said and also an opportunity but I will be ready when that happened.

MCKENZIE: But the move to renewables takes time and cost money 50 to $60 billion in South Africa alone says ESKOM.

NEMADODZI: So this will become useless

MCKENZIE: So rich countries will need to finance the transition as part of their climate commitments. Despite ESKOM's mountains of debt and history of

corruption allegations.

DE RUYTER: I think it's not only realistic, it's imperative. If you look at the position that South Africa unfortunately occupies, given our size

for South Africa to be the 12th largest carbon emitter in the world, we, I think, are a poster child of what needs to be done in order to transition

away from coal to more sustainable forms of electricity generation.

MCKENZIE: They are saying that maybe South Africa needs to stop using coal.

BONGINGKOSI: Yes.

MCKENZIE: Because of climate change.

BONGINGKOSI: Yes.

[13:40:00]

MCKENZIE: What do you think about that?

BONGINGKOSI: Sure. Sure. What can I say about that?

It makes me scared just because we have a lot of people who depend on the coal. So we kind of can't live without it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: Going down that mine, you can really feel how awful that job is. But it is still a job and those people depending on coal in this country

and throughout the world are fearful of the changes that have to be factored in, in a big way, for us to combat climate change.

GORANI: All right, David McKenzie, great report. Thank you very much.

Still to come tonight, poverty and hunger in Afghanistan, driving families to make unthinkable choices. The fate of some helpless little girls is at

stake. We'll be right back.

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GORANI: At least 20 people have been killed and 30 wounded in an attack on Afghanistan's biggest military hospital. Eyewitnesses say there were two

large explosion and several minutes of gunfire.

So far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack but local news quotes witnesses who describe fighters from the Afghan ISIS affiliate

entering the hospital and fighting with security guards.

Now to a distressing story also out of Afghanistan, showing the reality of the humanitarian crisis engulfing the country. Desperate families say

they're being forced to sell their young daughters just in order to survive. Anna Coren has our report. Anna.

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hala, this is a really difficult story to watch. But we think it's so important the world knows what's

happening in Afghanistan right now.

In our exclusive report, CNN witnesses the tragic fate facing these helpless little girls. It's important to note, the parents gave us full

access and permission to speak to the children and show their faces because they say they cannot change the practice themselves.

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COREN (voice-over): In this arid, desolate landscape, not a scrap of vegetation in sight, lies a makeshift camp for some of Afghanistan's

internally displaced.

Among its residents, 9-year-old Parwana.

[13:45:00]

COREN (voice-over): Her bright pink dress, squeals of laughter and childhood games, a ruse to the horrors unfolding in this inhospitable

environment.

Parwana's family moved to this camp in Badghis Province four years ago after her father lost his job. Humanitarian aid and menial work earning $3

a day providing the basic staples to survive. But since the Taliban takeover 2.5 months ago, any money or assistance has dried up.

And with eight mouths to feed, Parwana's father is now doing the unthinkable.

"I have no work, no money, no food. I have to sell my daughter," he says. "I have no other choice."

Parwana, who dreams of going to school and becoming a teacher, applies makeup; a favorite pastime for little girls but Parwana knows she is

preparing for what awaits her.

"My father has sold me because we don't have bread, rice and flour. He has sold me to an old man."

The white bearded man, who claims he's 55 years old, comes to collect her. He's bought Parwana for 200,000 Afghanis, just over $2,000 U.S. To cover it

up, Parwana whimpers as her mother holds her.

"This is your bride. Please take care of her," says Parwana's father.

"Of course I will take care of her," replies the man.

His large hands grab her small frame. Parwana tries to pull away. As he carries her only bag of belongings, she again resists, digging her heels

into the dirt. But it's futile. The fate of this small, helpless child has been sealed.

Child marriage is nothing new in poor rural parts of Afghanistan. But human rights activists are reporting an increase in cases because of the economic

and humanitarian crisis engulfing the country.

HEATHER BARR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: These are devastating decisions that no parent should ever have to make. And it really speaks to what an

extraordinary breakdown is happening in Afghanistan right now.

COREN (voice-over): For months, the U.N. has been warning of a catastrophe as Afghanistan, a war-ravaged dependent country, descends into a brutal

winter.

Billions of dollars in central bank assets were frozen after the Taliban swept to power in August. Banks are running out of money. Wages haven't

been paid for months, while food prices soar.

According to the U.N., more than half the population doesn't know where their next meal is coming from. And more than 3 million children under the

age of 5 face acute malnutrition in the coming months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People of Afghanistan need a lifeline.

COREN: And while $1 billion has been pledged by U.N. donors to help the Afghan people, less than half those funds have been received as the

international community holds off recognizing the Taliban government.

ISABELLE MOUSSARD CARLSEN, HEAD OF OFFICE, UNOCHA: People of Afghanistan will be dying of hunger in the next couple of months. And not just a few.

This is just making people more and more vulnerable. We cannot accept that.

COREN (voice-over): Sentiment shared by the Taliban.

MAWLAWI ABDUL HAI MOBASHER, TALIBAN OFFICIAL FOR REFUGEES (through translator): We are asking aid agencies to come back to Afghanistan and

help these poor people; otherwise, the crisis will worsen.

COREN (voice-over): For this family in neighboring Ghor Province, they are trying to sell two daughters, 9-year-old Leeton (ph) and 4-year-old Zaiton

for $1,000 U.S. each.

"Do you know why they're selling you?" the journalist asked Zaiton.

"Because we are a poor family and don't have any food to eat," she says.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

"Yes, I am."

Another family in Ghor Province borrowed money from their 70-year-old neighbor. Now he's demanding it back but they have nothing to give, except

their 10-year-old daughter, Magul.

"My daughter doesn't want to go and she's crying all the time. I am so ashamed," he says.

Terrified, she threatens to take her life.

"If they push me to marry the old man, I will kill myself. I don't want to leave my parents."

Days later, she discovers the sale has been finalized, another Afghan child sold into a life of misery.

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COREN: Hala, it's absolutely harrowing, knowing what these young girls will be subjected to. Just an update on 10-year-old Magul, the last girl in

our story, who threatened to take her life.

[13:50:00]

COREN: She will be handed over to the 70-year-old man who bought her in the coming days. If that lack of aid is not urgently addressed, the United

Nations projects by the middle of next year, 97 percent of Afghans will be living below the poverty line, which means there will be even more girls

ending up like Magul and Parwana.

GORANI: It is absolutely devastating.

Now to a scene, the scene of a building collapse in Nigeria. Crews are frantically trying to rescue more survivors from that collapsed building in

Lagos. Nine people have been pulled out alive so far but 14 others were killed and toll is almost certain to rise. Stephanie Busari is on the

scene.

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STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN.COM SUPERVISING EDITOR, AFRICA: Rescue operations underway behind me in this building here as authorities say they're very

much focused on saving lives. This gives hope to the hundreds gathered here, some family members desperately awaiting news of their loved ones.

These relatives have also supplied names to the authorities of their loved ones trapped in there. We spoke to the brother of one woman. Her name is

Zaina (ph). This woman has responded when rescuers called her name. We know she's alive.

The relatives are very much hoping that they will all be brought out alive. Authorities also told us that this building would contravene building

regulations and was sealed in July and it was in the process of correcting some of those contraventions when this collapse happened -- Stephanie

Busari, CNN, Lagos.

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GORANI: And we'll be right back. Stay with us.

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GORANI: Many of us are trying to live our lives in more climate conscious ways.

But what do we do after that?

Earth-friendly burials are the focus of today's "Going Green."

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): The impact we have on the planet in our lifetime is all too familiar. But our death can be detrimental to the

natural world, too. In a forest north of Delft, Dutch inventor Bob Hendrikx thinks a solution can be found in nature.

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BOB HENDRIKX, FOUNDER, LOOP: What really frustrates me is that, when I die, I'm polluting the Earth. I'm waste. It started by me just exploring

nature and then I came up with mushrooms. Mushrooms are known as the world's largest recycler and they turn dead organic matter into new plant

life.

For me, it was like, OK, they actually want to turn us when we die into plant food.

Why are we not using this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Hendrikx is the founder of Loop, a startup he created to develop the living cocoon. Made from mycelium, the

root network of mushrooms, it's a coffin designed to turn bodies into compost, enriching the Earth as they decompose.

HENDRIKX: A deer in the forest is gone in a very fast time.

What are we doing?

Where we created the super industrial process for one of the most natural processes on Earth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Conventional burials can lead to material depletion, CO2 emissions but also soil pollution as bodies often

contain embalming chemicals that seep into the ground. While traditional coffins can take up to 20 years to decompose, a Loop living coffin would

disappear in just over six weeks.

A full decomposition of the body can take less than three years.

HENDRIKX: We've experimented with several times of fungi and coincidentally the mushroom of immortality is the one that we work for the

living coffin. We mix this with wood chips, as you can see here. And finally this becomes the end product, living material.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Once mixed with a secret ingredient the mycelium and wood chips will go into a mold and grow into a coffin within

the space of a week.

HENDRIKX: We're filling it up with fresh moss now from the forest, that will help decompose the body faster.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): As soon as it's exposed to damp soil, the coffin will come back to life and begin the decomposition process. The

coffins will be used in green burial sites like this one, just outside Rotterdam.

In the Netherlands alone, there are now more than 20 natural burial sites with 10 more under construction as an increasing number of people look for

funeral practices that are more friendly to the planet.

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GORANI: Well, there you have it.

And thanks for watching this evening. I'm Hala Gorani. Do stay with CNN. Christiane Amanpour is next with a sit-down interview with the U.K. prime

minister Boris Johnson. Stay with us.

END