Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20151214

Solve the Climate Crisis. Amy thousands from around the world take to the streets of paris this weekend to say the agreement doesnt go far enough. [chanting] deny Climate Change on one hand on the other hand they find billions to the pentagon in order to plan for Climate Change because there is a clear plan, it is war. Every day, delay, means sentencing millions of people to death. Now they have crossed the red line. Amy we go to the streets of paris and we will host a discussion on the climate accord with guardian columnist and environmental activist George Monbiot and Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Nearly 200 nations agreed in paris saturday to a global accord to rein in rising greenhouse emissions that are warming the planet. The deal involves voluntary commitments to begin cutting emissions as well as billions more dollars to help poor nations cope with the transition to a greener economy powered by Renewable Energy. President obama hailed the deal even while of knowledge and it is not enough to stop Global Warming. Even if all the initial targets set in paris are met, we will only be part of the way there when it comes to reducing carbon from the atmosphere, so we cannot be complacent because of todays agreement. The problem is not solved because of this accord. It make no mistake, the Paris Agreement establishes the enduring framework the world needs to solve the Climate Crisis. Amy many scientists and them terminal groups say nations need to be far more ambitious to rivet Global Temperatures from rising. Thousands of people took to the streets of paris saturday to demand further action. We will go to the streets and hear more about the Paris Agreement after headlines. France, thes from farright antiimmigrant National Front has failed to win a single region in the second round of elections. The National Front won six of 13 regions in the first round last week. But in a tactical move aimed at defeating the front, the rival socialist party withdrew from the contest in key regions, urging supporters to back the more mainstream conservatives instead. Despite the National Fronts defeat, french Prime Minister manuel valls said the threat is not over. Tonight there is no place for triumph, no messages of victory. The danger posed by the far right has not gone away far from it. I wont forget the results of the first round and previous elections. Amy in germany, police said 69 officers were injured and 50 damaged after leftwing demonstrators took to the streets to protest a neonazi rally. Police did not say how many protesters were injured in the clashes in leipzig. 23 people were detained. In saudi arabia, voters have elected 20 women to local government posts after women were allowed to vote and run in elections for the first time in saudi history. The winning female candidates make up about 1 of the municipal seats at play in the 2100 elections. In the east african nation of burundi, at least 87 people were killed friday in some of the deadliest violence since unrest erupted earlier this year. The violence began after president Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans to seek what many say was an unconstitutional third term in office, winning reelection in on friday, july. Officials said attackers hit three military sites residents , accused Security Forces of rounding up people and killing them in retaliatory violence. A coalition of 17 countries led by the United States and italy have backed the formation of a unity government in libya and called for an immediate ceasefire. Libya has been engulfed in chaos following the u. S. Backed ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, allowing the selfproclaimed Islamic State to claim swaths of territory. Secretary of state john kerry said he is confident libyas rival governments will sign the unity pledge later this week. Speaking in rome, john kerry said the rise in libya of isis which he called daesh threatens the world. We came here today, members of the libya support group, neighbors of libya, international organizations, theuse we cannot allow status quo in libya to continue. It is dangerous for the viability of libya. It is dangerous for libyans. Now because of the increased purposefullyaesh degrading there, it is dangerous for everyone. Amy Doctors Without Borders has raised the death toll of the u. S. Airstrike on its hospital in kunduz, afghanistan. It is saying at least 42 people were killed, including 24 staff members. The organization has called for an independent investigation into the attack which it calls a possible war crime. Hundreds of Syrian Refugees have arrived in canada, where they have been immediately granted permanent residency. Prime minister Justin Trudeau has pledged to resettle 10,000 Syrian Refugees by the end of this month and another 15,000 by march 1. Trudeau and canadians have welcomed the refugees with video messages of support. He greeted the first batch of more than 160 refugees who arrived around midnight on thursday. Tonight they step off the plane as refugees, but they walked out of this terminal as permanent residents of canada with social and search insurance numbers, health cards, and with an opportunity to become full canadians. Amy in germany, meanwhile, chancellor Angela Merkel has said she wants to drastically decrease the number of refugees entering germany amid pressure from within her party. More than 340,000 refugees are expected to enter germany this year. British resident shaker aamer has spoken out about his imprisonment in guantanamo, following his release in october after more than 13 years behind bars. Shaker aamer had been cleared for release since 2007, but the United States kept him locked up without charge. He says he was subjected to torture, beatings, sleep deprivation, and starvation, doused with freezing water and forced to stand for 18 hours at a time. In a series of interviews, aamer said a british official was present during one of his beatings. Aamer also condemned extremism, saying any extremists living in the u. K. Should get the hell out. And speaking to itv news, aamer described reuniting with his wife and children. There are some you have never seen . Just the sun. 14 years. My oldest daughter was 4. 5. For them i am a stranger, a total stranger. Amy in california, Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies shot and killed an africanamerican saturday man on they say was saturday armed with a gun and refused to drop it. Sheriffs Officials Say Nicholas Robertson fired several shots into the air and was behaving erratically. Deputies opened fire and video shows them continuing to shoot as robertson crawls away on his stomach. The two deputies fired 33 shots. On the campaign trail, a new poll of Republican Voters in iowa shows texas senator ted cruz leading over business mogul donald trump. The Des Moines Register Bloomberg Politics poll found cruz had a 10 point lead over trump with 31 support compared to trumps 21 . Retired neurosurgeon ben carson appears to be plummeting in the polls. The shift comes ahead of the next republican president ial debate tuesday in las vegas. In Southern California, police and the fbi have launched a hate crimes probe after two mosques were vandalized. Worshipers at the Islamic Center of hawthorne arrived sunday to find the words jesus is the way spray painted on the mosque. At another mosque in the same town, the word jesus was spray painted on the outside and a plastic hand grenade replica was left in the driveway. The incidents came after Police Arrested 23yearold carl dial, jr. , friday on hate crime and arson charges over a fire at a third Southern California mosque, the Islamic Society of coachella valley. Alisa shabazz, a member of the mosque, responded to the fire. When we came around the corner, we saw the ambulance excuse me, the fire department, and it was like, whats happening . They said someone tried to blowup a mosque. Why . For what reason . We are peaceful people. We dont terrorize people. We dont bomb people. I have been a muslim all my life, and ive never had to deal with this. Amy the mosque fires are part of an apparent spike in islamophobic incidents in the aftermath of the paris and San Bernardino attacks and amid calls by republican candidate donald trump to ban muslims from entering the United States. More than a dozen incidents have been reported over the past week alone. In tampa, florida, two muslim women reported being attacked in separate incidences one said she was shot at, while another said she was nearly run off the road by a man who threw stones at her. In gwinnett county, georgia was 13 oh muslim girl was asked by a teacher if she had a bomb in her backpack. Multiple mosques from new jersey to arizona have been vandalized or received hate mail. Funerals continued over the weekend for the 14 People Killed in the San Bernardino, california shooting attacks by Tashfeen Malik and her husband syed rizwan farook. The New York Times reports malik passed three background checks by u. S. Immigration authorities as she moved from pakistan to the United States, despite her posts on social media saying she wanted to take part in violent jihad. Immigration Authorities Say they dont routinely review social media as part of the background check process. Ecuador and sweden have reportedly reached a deal to allow wikileaks founder Julian Assange to be questioned by swedish authorities on sex guns allegations in the ecuadorean embassy, where he has been holed up for more than three years. Assange has long requested he be questioned by swedish prosecutors inside the embassy. He fears if he travels to sweden, he could end up being extradited to the United States, where a secret grand jury has been investigating wikileaks revelations. Sweden has never charged assange with a crime. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In whats been described as a historic turning point, nearly 200 nations agreed in paris saturday to a global accord to rein in rising Greenhouse Gas emissions blamed for warming the planet. Under the deal, nations will make voluntary commitments to begin cutting emissions. In addition the deal provides , billions more dollars to help poor nations cope with the transition to a greener economy powered by Renewable Energy. French foreign minister Laurent Fabius announced consensus on the deal had been reached. I now invite the cop to adopt the draft decision entitled Paris Agreement which features in the document, im looking around the room and i see the reaction is positive. I dont hear any objection. The Paris Agreement for the climate is accepted. Amy the Paris Agreement was reached at the conclusion of the two week u. N. Climate change summit in paris known as cop21. U. N. Secretary general ban ki moon praised the deal. Going to have for the first time a universal and global an ambitious Climate Change agreement. Our is the beginning and common efforts to make our lives for people sustainable and prosperous as well as a healthy planet. Amy despite the Paris Agreement, many scientists and environmental groups say nations need to be far more ambitious to prevent Global Temperatures from rising. Current Emission Reduction pledges put the world on pace to warm by as much 6. 3 degrees fahrenheit, or 3. 5 degrees celsius, above preindustrial levels. The globes temperature has already risen by nearly 1 degree celsius and the impact of Global Warming has been felt across the globe. 2015 is on pace to be worlds hottest year on record. The United States has also been criticized for failing to take more responsibility for causing the Climate Crisis as the Worlds Largest historic emitter. Greenpeace executive director kumi naidoo said climate activists will continue to mobilize after paris to push nations to do more to address the crisis. This is neither a moment for triumph or four despair. We cannot be triumphant of the deal that is done here when tens of thousands of lives have been lost already as a result of Climate Impact and furthermore, tens of thousands of lives on the precipice of survival. Indigenous peoples, people in lowlying states and so on. Neither should it be a message of despair for us in the Climate Movement. We have one the core argument that Climate Crisis is serious, it requires urgent action, and we will continue to mobilize tomorrow to make sure the end of the fossil fuel in europe starts today, tora starts 100 Renewable Energy future by no later than 2015. Amy to talk more about the Paris Agreement, we are joined by two guests. George monbiot is a british journalist and author. A columnist with the guardian and author of the 2006 book, heat how to stop the planet from burning. His latest piece is called, grand promises of paris climate deal undermined by squalid retrenchments. He is joining us from london. And in San Francisco is Michael Brune, executive director of the sierra club. His book coming clean breaking , americas addiction to oil and coal. Michael, you have just flown in from paris as we have. You were there for the final moments of this Paris Agreement. Your assessment of what close to 200 countries have agreed on . Is a turningk it point. What we saw it shows to every country in the world made a commitment to either cut their own carbon or peak the growth in their emissions. There was meant was an acknowledgment what was committed to is not nearly enough and so there is a process that was established to take stock of the progress being made and then to commit to its reductions in the years ahead. What we saw in the last two weeks was that every country around the world agreed we have to do much, much more to fight Climate Change effectively and to begin to set up a dialogue and mechanism for rich countries to aid the poor countries, and to make room for continuous ambition moving forward. So it is a good start, and there is, of course, a very long way to go. Amy George Monbiot, your assessment . Well, i wish i could be as optimistic as michael. What i see is an agreement with no timetables, no targets, with vague and while aspirations. It is a must as if it is safe to adopt 1. 5 degrees centigrade as their aspirational target now that it is pretty well impossible to reach. I see a lot of backslapping, a lot of self congratulation and i see very little in terms of the actual substance that is required to avert climate breakdown. That is what we are facing. We are facing an axis dental crisis for humankind existential crisis for humankind. And the response by the world leader has been anything but come and see what with that crisis. Amy what did you feel needed to be done, george . Well, we needed a clear set of binding commitments based around percentage cuts bite certain dates. Those were initially in the text, but they got stripped out as the process went along. Got the phrasee as soon as possible, which could mean anything or nothing. Amy Michael Brune . Thats not accurate. The targets are established first, there are targets. It were never in the text. What we have is they were in the text we have india that has committed to 175 gigawatts of power, clean energy over the next decade. That is equivalent to about half of the u. S. Coal fleet in the United States. African nations have committed to install about double that. China has committed to install as much solar and as much wind as we have coal, natural gas, and Nuclear Power combined by 2030. The best news i think that we saw from cop is every country has realized this is a problem, we need to do a lot more. But even better is that the Climate Movement that helped to secure all of these victories is showing up to work today. And we not going to let up until we get in economy, a just society, that is powered by 100 clean energy. There is a lot ofeaknesses in this agreement. If you want to point out with this agreement doesnt do, get in line. There is a lot of opportunities to strengthen this agreement stop and i agree with george, we have fallen short of what is needed. But what is also true is our movement has never been more powerful. We have never had this much moment to turning away from fossil fuels, embracing clean energy, and now we need to finish the job. Amy i want to go to the role u. S. Played, but first, were going to get a break. Our guest are Michael Brune the , executive director of the sierra club. His book coming clean breaking , americas addiction to oil and coal. And were speaking with George Monbiot, british journalist and author. Stay with us. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Is climate countdown. Were just back from the paris u. N. Climate summit. On saturday, president obama Healthy National agreement aimed at curbing Climate Change. Moreover, this agreement sends a powerful signal that the world is firmly committed to a low carbon future, and that has the potential to unleash investment and innovation in clean energy at a scale we have never seen before. The targets we have set our bold. And by empowering businesses, scientists, engineers, workers, and the private sector, investors to Work Together, this agreement represents the best chance we have had to save the one planet that weve got. Believe this moment can be a turning point for the world. We have shown that the world has both the will and the ability to take on this challenge. Amy that is president obama addressing the Paris Agreement that was reached late saturday. Word was that part of the hours of delay on saturday was that the u. S. Wanted to make some final changes to the text. Theres been a great till of discussion that president obama wanted to ensure that this wasnt mandatory because he said that would mean any treaty and a treaty he would not be able to get through congress. ,ur guest are George Monbiot british journalist, his latest fees, heat how to stop the planet from burning. Grand promises of paris climate deal undermined by squalid retrenchments. And Michael Brune, just back where the paris accord was hammered out. His executive director of the sierra club. George monbiot, the role of the United States, historically the largest Greenhouse Gas emitter. Well, yes. One of the most reluctant nations historically to cut its emissions, the senate blocking all progress again and again. We see at the moment the most active president in this respect and in the for simple future, the most active one we are likely to have. And part of my pessimism i would love to embrace michaels optimistic vision hinges on the fact that whoever the successor to president obama might be, whether it is, for instance, Hillary Clinton or one of her republican rivals, were unlikely to get such an engaged and active president pushing this agenda. And if this is the best we can do under the best president has been where this issue is concerned, well, i hate to think what comes next. Amy Michael Brune, if you could respond and also to George Monbiots comment in his guardian piece, he said by comparison to what it could have been, it is a miracle. By comparison to what it should have been, it is a disaster. First, i love george. Fantastic writer and a great activist. George, thanks for all your work. I guess what i was they is embracing an optimistic vision isnt an armchair exercise. We have to work for it, just like we had to work for every victory that the climate has won over the past couple of years. What we know is that in the United States and increasingly in countries around the world, clean energy is now often cheaper than coal, cheaper than gas, cheaper than nuclear, sometimes cheaper than oil. And what that means is that solutions to Climate Change are more affordable than a problem, the fossil fuels, that have caused this problem. So what we now need to do if you are climate activists and you look at this agreement and you felt little bit of hope, thats good. If you felt this agreement doesnt go far enough, thats also good. If you are living near a coal plant, you need to work now to shut it down. And the make sure that it is replaced by clean energy. If you have fracking the backyard, we need to Work Together to make sure that clean energy is installed instead because it will do a much better job of creating jobs. If youre fighting a coal export terminal or lng export terminal or fighting the extraction of fossil fuels almost anywhere am a then we need to Work Together to stop exporting defeatism and dirty fuels, but start exporting optimism and clean energy. What is true is we have to make sure that we are electing leaders who are more in vicious than our current ones. And sometimes it can be depressing looking at the crop of candidates that we have in the u. S. And around the world, but what is also true is that our Climate Movement is resurgent. We are ascendant. We are projecting a more optimistic and irresistible message for the public, which is that we can build an economy that is powered by clean energy. We dont need dirty fuels in order to make a just society that works for everybody. Amy George Monbiot, loss and damage. Explain what that means. That was one of the final sticking points of the United States, the issue of countries that are dealing with the historical effects of Climate Change, their countries could be submerged, getting actual compensation for what has happened. The u. S. Said they were only willing to put the term loss and damage into the text if it was also said that the u. S. And other western countries would not be liable for that loss and damage. Yes, it is saddening to see this failure to take responsibility and this failure to accept liability. So we in the rich nations it is not just the u. S. , it is my nation here in the u k as well as many others have effectively dumped our external rest on the people of the of the world and of course, on future generations. And then we wash our hands of it. We say, well, we will give you a little bit of aid to help you adapt, to help you switch technologies and stuff, but were not going to accept anything resembling legal liability for the consequences of what we have done. To me, that since the basic principles of justice. And to broaden this out somewhat, i dont disagree with anything that michael does that. I think is absolutely right and we have to push this as hard as we can. At the same time, we have to be realistic about what has just been agreed. And there are several really fundamental flaw flaws in it. The lack of liability, the lack of responsibility is one of them. But were looking at commitments that nations have made which commit us to a minimum of 2. 7 degrees centigrade im sorry, i dont do fahrenheit and a maximum of about 3. 5 degrees, even of those promises are met, any part of that range of temperature is catastrophic for many of the worlds people, especially the poorest and the most Vulnerable People who are the people we should be most concerned about. Is allsame time, there of this wonderful investment taking place in alternative energy, which is fantastic, renewable and the rest of it which i strongly support, but there is not the commitment to leave also fuels in the ground. And simply developing new renewables, new technologies while continuing to use the old ones is like going on a dive and as six youight have to stop eating the big macs if youre going to lose that weight. It is just the same with Climate Change. , as michael alluded to, is to leave the fossil fuels in the ground. And what we do after that, other than switching to alternatives is crucial, but it is undermined unless we are retiring those fossil fuels. Unfortunately, that didnt even arise as an issue during the climate talks. Amy Michael Brune, how does india and china fit into this picture . In a lot of ways. Lumia grew a george, we need to keep also fuels in the ground and i hate big macs. I agree with that as well. Heres what is happening with india and china. Both countries have made commitments which are kind of diplomatic in that both emblematic and that both countries are not committing to a specific date in which their emissions will start to decline, nor a what levels those emissions will start to decline. And yet both countries have made dramatic world changing movements commitments to install. What is happening in china, the United States and the european union, two things are happening at once, were scaling up the amount of clean energy coming online and yet we are not yet ranked, no, insufficient quantities to fossil fuels in the ground. Look at the United States. We won on keystone. Were winning in the arctic. We have a chance of preventing any drilling from happening in the american arctic. Were making Good Progress now and beginning to build a movement to lock away resources that are based on public lands. We dont need to extract more oil, coal, natural gas from the leases on public lands. And yet we do not yet have sufficient momentum to keep more fossil fuels in the ground. I agree with george what is happening right now is far deficient. Were not even close to doing what needs to be done. I will also assert that more momentum and more power politically with better Market Forces than we have ever had. And so now is an opportunity to secure the wins we have had and have a clear eye, and unflinching realistic eye about what still needs to be done and then go get to work to make sure we are not expanding our use of also fuels but increasingly we are turning away and toward a society that is powered by clean energy. Amy what about the issue, George Monbiot, of the subsidized fossil fuel industry to the tune of billions of dollars in the United States, and the west, and around the outstripping far any cut of support for renewables. Does the Paris Agreement address this . No meansby sufficiently. And one of the extraordinary things is, were constantly told we cant afford to switch to renewables, yet somehow we can afford to spend far more money than governments spent on renewables on subsidizing fossil fuels. It is a grotesque situation. And an outrageous injustice. It is an injustice in the current taxpayers are being fleeced in order to give this money to the oil industry, the gas industry, the coal industry perhaps the least deserving causes you can imagine worldwide. We talk about we are giving too much foreign aid to starving people. Well, why are we giving all of this money to the Richest Companies in the world . It is just insanity. But at the same time as that, we are saying we cant afford these transitions. Of course, the reality is, we cant afford not to make the transitions. We cant afford not to get out fuels, not to, basically, shut down fossil fuel industries rather than giving them buckets of money out of the public treasury. Until we sort that out and have a global moratorium on the subsidies and tax breaks and royalty breaks and Everything Else that they receive, well, were going to continue committing to that injustice against todays taxpayers, against the victims of Climate Change, against future generations. Amy and where does the sierra club, Michael Brune, go from here in these last 30 seconds . What we have to fight for right now is very timely in that the u. S. Budget is being negotiated. And these tax cuts and these tax break that george is talking about or what is on the table. To extend. S. Continue its dependence on fossil fuels and allow for tax perks enjoyed by the will industry to continue or will we let the Tax Investments for solar and wind actually expire . This is a fight that is being have had in congress today, this morning, and it is up to the president to make sure were signing a budget that is an accord with the climate goals he just signed onto to over the weekend. Amy Michael Brune, thank you for being with us, etc. Director of the sierra club. His book, coming clean breaking americas addiction to oil and coal. And thank you so much to George Monbiot, british journalist and author, columnist with the guardian and author of, heat how to stop the planet from burning. We willing to your piece in the guardian, grand promises of paris climate deal undermined by squalid retrenchments. Our earlyme back from break, we go to the streets of paris this weekend between the eiffel tower and arc de triomphe, thousands of the Paris Agreement is not good enough. Stay with us. [music break] amy this is climate countdown, im amy goodman. While representatives from nearly 200 nations gathered in id cop 21, to handle hammer out the final details, Climate Justice, Civil Society groups from around the world took to the streets of paris. Democracy now was there. Trim, me is the art to and protesters have triumphed today, two weeks after the ban on all protest of the major march here in paris, protesters prevailed upon the french government to actually permit this protest december 12, the day the climate accord here in paris is being released. To makes are gathering their voices heard. There carrying placards and signs and banners saying things like leave it in the ground, no co2 colonialism protect mother earth. State of emergency or state of urgency referring to climate. They are demanding to keep the oil in the soil. Were going to go speak to some of the people now. What we want . Climate justice. I am from london. I am part of the occupy movement and climate activists for many years. And like so many thousands of others, i had to be here because the state of the world is pretty much is one to be decided by the combination of the relative failure of this agreement and our ability today and going forward, especially in the next couple of years, to stand up against the insanity that it represents. With onelking already degree about hundreds of millions of people affected traumatically by droughts, floods, typhoons, etc. Yet france and the u. S. A fairly part of the coalition saying they want 1. 5 degrees and at the ask,time, share cold, tar sands, we all know will be locked in a situation that is virtually impossible to get the change we need to see so now is the most important time and it is strange to be up to say that and i think we need to reflect on that. Amy we are right next to the are to trio. Thousands of people are here. Theyve just held up a redline. That line stretches from the can you tell us what this is . This redline is for solidarity. Way ourt happy with the governments are handling our climate. I come from kenya. Kenya people are really suffering. A lot of floods and route. I come from San Francisco, california. All of ourng on ancestors who have taught us how to take care of the land, how to take care of the earth. Were here because our granddaughters and grandsons, were here because we love our mother earth and we want to take care of her. This is a way in which we want to be able to share that with the world. Thank you. People are waving a large circular banner that says Climate Justice versus wall street here in front of the arc de trimophe, thousands of protesters on the last day of cop21, the u. N. Climate summit. Here they are chanting. No warming. No war, no warming. No war, no warming. I am from nigeria. We are standing on the red line debating onelegates up,ate change have messed have ignored the crisis. Every day delay means sentencing millions of people to death. Now they have crossed the redline. They have crossed the redline by not setting real targets for reduction. Below twos celsius, degrees, sounds nice, but all of the commitments made, sentencing the world already to more than three to four degrees celsius and that means many of our children and many of us cannot survive in a world like that. We are the people. The mighty, mighty people. Fighting for justice. And for liberation. My name is death matthews from davis, california, and im with the iraqi veterans against the war. We came with the apex grassroots delegation. Amy why are you here . To draw the links between Climate Change and militarism. Amy what do you mean . What are the links . U. S. Military is the largest polluter in the world and so i think it is difficult to have an agreement at the cop agreement that excludes u. S. Military solutions. Amy how is it excluding . Theyre not tracking the amount of pollution that is emitted from the u. S. Military as part of u. S. Emissions. In addition, the military, militaries across the world are helping enforce extractive economies. When local communities and front line communities are trying to build movements to keep extractive corporations from taking the resources out of their lands, the military, the police and militarism in general is stopping that from happening. Amy where did you serve . I was deployed to iraq two times from 2000 82010, and also in afghanistan in 2011. Amy what you think about the effects of those wars on the people there and on the soldiers that you served with, including yourself . The effects of been devastating. Weve seen attacker cities destroyed. The amount of pollution is not just from the exhaust that comes out of the engines. Were seeing white phosphorus, pollution,anium destroying entire areas. So people are fleeing iraq and afghanistan and americans are shutting their doors on them. We have seen veterans with lung cancer from burnt pits and the v. A. Refusing to provide treatment for that. It has been a very difficult problem. I am from denver, colorado. Im on the board chair of the iraq veterans against the war. Amy why did you come to a Climate Change summit . Iraq veterans against the war realize that even if we end the wars in iraq and afghanistan, the privatized contractor were, the extraction of resources, the multinational taking a position for Global Security would still be going on. So it is a much larger issue where politicians deny Climate Change on one hand and then on the other hand, they fund billions to the pentagon in order to plan for Climate Change because there is a clear plan they have for Climate Change war. That is what they been doing this all time. Weve got to be able to get the Antiwar Movement and the Climate Change movement has to come together to say it is not just about the rain forest and the animals, it is the entire economy based on the military economy that has to be switched over towards amy where did you serve . I deserted when i realize there was no weapons of mass destruction. Nuclearlisted as a biological chemical specialist and never deployed. They wanted to change as two truck drivers. I realize they did not have weapons of mass destruction, so i deserted. I left. Amy what happened you . Always underground for a long time in the my orders expired and here i am as a Climate Change activist. We want freedom, freedom. I am from San Francisco, california. Im here with the climate ribbon project. Were been asking people around the world, what do you love and hope to never lose to Climate Chaos . People have been writing their messages on ribbons and mailing them into paris and displayed all over the city tied to trees as hopes and prayers and wishes. Today, were putting peoples prayers and hopes out on the streets as a symbol of the red lines that negotiators must not cross. As a reminder to these negotiators that this is what we stand to lose. Amy jealous was some of the messages are tell us what some of the messages are . This one says, life before money. And another, life cannot exist without choices lets make the right one. The one that was really moving to me is this one. This is from libya from wisconsin. She says, playing outside on my swing set. Amy what about that when . Lets end the expiration date. It looks like that is from jordan. Amy can you tell me about the tulips . They were part of the action here today that people were reading the names of people who were killed by climate injustice. And we are putting the tulips down on the street as a sign of honor, respect, and love. Im from melbourne. Were the climate guardian angels. We are from australia. We have chosen angels because they protect him a warning against danger, and protect children in particular and the innocent. Amy and how has, change affected australia . It is one of the worst worsted at all that affected of all as was predicted. We have had really exceptional weather patterns for quite some time. Very dry conditions. That wasyear drought directly exacerbated by Climate Change. Systems are completely disrupted. We see it happening all around the world. At least we are relatively wealthy nation, so we can cope much better ways than other parts of the world, other people who are directly affected now as well and who dont have the resources that australia has. Amy why did you come to paris . Of theanted to be part Global Movement and we felt strongly our government was not representing australians, not representing the majority of australians who want 100 Renewable Energy quickly and we know that they undermine have undermined ambitions for reduction targets at every single one of these. They just represent industry rather than people. They knowingly and willfully ignored the best interests of their own citizens and the global citizens. Were deeply ashamed. Decarbonize. God green inh seattle, Washington Post up in seattle, we have coal and oil trains that go through our neighborhoods. Canave done as much as we to try and regulate them. But because of the interstate Commerce Clause in the dangerouson, these exploding oil trains are actually allowed to go through even though if one was to explode during, like, say, during a seahawks game, 60,000 people would go up in flames. In the city has tried passing resolutions, tried doing different modes of them alike, regulating it, but we are banned because on the federal levels, they dont allow us to regulated at all. And that is why now the people have to go out in the streets will stop we have been on the train tracks blocking oil trains because we have no other solutions. Whats our solution . No more pollution. I am from the confederation of presence of peru. In peru, they have been exploiting the Natural Resources of our country. And wefighting for water are fighting for mother earth. My name ispablo salon and im here because i want all of my children to live. And i think the world with more than three degrees celsius is what is allowed in the Paris Agreement will not let all of the children of the world live. We will have to choose which children are going to live. And of course, the children of the bolivian countries, of the poor, are going to be the ones that will not be able to survive. So im here to say, now the solutions are going to come from the ground, from below, from the grassroots because governments, corporations have failed. Now we have to take in our hands the solutions to Climate Change. That is why im here. Amy you are here at the exact same time inside the cop, just a few miles from here, the paris accord, the Paris Agreement is being delivered and unveiled. What is your understanding of what it says . Iswell, the Paris Agreement a death sentence for many people. A world war ii veteran greases more than three degrees celsius is a world where not everybody withsurvive a world temperature increases more than three degrees celsius is a world where not everyone will survive. If you look at the text, it is not addressing the causes of Greenhouse Gases, theyre opening the door to new carbon mechanisms under the name of to support Sustainable Development. Paris agreement is in contradiction, it violates the Sustainable Development goals that just a couple of months ago the u. N. Adopted. Because how are you going to if youee life for all have an agreement that says, no, the temperature will increase to more than three degrees celsius . Amy seven agreed on 1. 5 degrees celsius. Does that give you any hope . I mean, the 1. 5 or the two degrees celsius is something that should just put an article that what you have to really look at, what are the contributions of the emissions cuts in this agreement . You get summarize that, a world that not 1. 5, not two degrees celsius, you get a world of more than three degrees celsius. So the 1. 5 is just a coverup. What a way to hide with youre really doing. I dont think it all you have 1. 5 and the text. We already have that. Emissions were reduced in the past five years . No. I believe the real part of the agreement is what each government has on the table. And that is really a death sentence for most of the people around the world. Amy how does Climate Change affect bolivia . It affects us in terms of our glaciers. If we lose our glaciers, we lose Drinking Water for the people. Culture,ater for every for biodiversity. It affects bolivia because we are going to see more and more natural disasters like el nino floods coming with huge that are going to devastate parts of the country. And not only in bolivia, and all of the americas. So this is for real. And what we are seeing in paris is a joke. That agreement is really a joke. A very bad joke for humanity and for nature. What we want . Climate justice. When we want it . Now. We are from japan. We are here because of the cop21 and the Climate Change meetings and we want to bring the message from japan that Nuclear Power is not a solution for Climate Change. Amy can you read me your banner . Another fukushima as possible. It means it is possible to have a World Without Nuclear Power plant and nuclear weapons. I think the solution is not enough and we have to, if you really want to survive, we have to act now, have Real Solutions now and i think the problem about Climate Change is because it is not about saving the planet, it is about saving the people. It is because people cannot adapt fast enough to those changes that are induced by Global Warming and Climate Change. With Nuclear Power, you have an accident, it is not decades or 20 or 30 years, it is day one the environment is completely destroyed in new cannot adapt. This is what we think Nuclear Power is really not the solution. This is why we think Nuclear Power is really not the solution. [chanting] amy people have marched from roadrc de trimophe to the to the apple tower. Thousands of people have gathered calling for Climate Justice. I am from friends of the earth scotland. Amy what are you doing here in front of the eiffel tower . Taking our voices from the global country to say we want Climate Change to be the government need to do something about it. , we donte because think the governments are doing enough. The people are coming on the street. We came from scotland to add our voice to them. Amy how has Climate Change affected scotland . Seen a changeave quite a lot. There is a risk because of rising tides and so forth. We are not seeing it as bad. We are also here in solidarity of those were definitely suffering a lot more than we are at this time. Amy there is been a petition in the u. K. , half a Million People calling for donald trump to be banned, the leading republican president ial candidate. He is a golf course in scotland, right . Donald trump is a very important person in the Environmental Movement because he took over a coastline and turned it into a golf course which is just then bought one of the biggest golf courses because people didnt want to go to the golf course. On the biggest one, temperature of course. Announcementh his inamerica about the muslims the borders who wants to put up, the people in scotland again of said, we dont want anything to do with donald trump in scotland. Amy he says he is investing bigtime in your country. It doesnt buy you a social license from the people. I think is finding that out and americas well. Just because you have money doesnt mean you will get the popularity. I am from brussels. Amy and the cop just came out with their Paris Agreement. Your thoughts . Why are you here in the streets. It is known from the beginning this deal is not going to live up to what this planet needs. We have seen it in the text. The people are in the streets to make sure people from indigenous communities, workers, ngos, peasants have come out to say, we are to have the final word. This deal is not one assault the planet, we are. If our governments are going to stop also feels, then we are. We have to keep them in the ground. Amy we last saw you being taken out of the grand palace by security as you were protesting entergy corporation. Talk about the effect you think were assume the close relationship between the energy corporations, the petro companies, coal and gas companies. Until we end the close relationship, were never going to have a deal that is good enough for the people of the planet. Amy where do you go from here . 2016 us when to be a huge year. So many things in the pipeline coal plantsm,ines, stopping more pipelines and fracking rates. The movement is getting bigger, converging. 2016, a huge amount of people are taking that power. [chanting] from arc de trimophe to the eiffel tower, voices from around the world in the streets of paris december 12, saturday, the day the Paris Agreement was approved. That does it for climate countdown. A special thanks to the team in paris. Democracy now is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. Email your comments to outreach democracynow. Org or mail them to democracy now p. O. Box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now ]