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Iraq Unrest; Lebanon Women's Peace March; Not Guilty Verdict In Hillsborough Disaster; How Trump Distances Himself From Controversial Aides; Netanyahu's Base Remains Loyal; Climate Crisis; #CallToEarth. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired November 28, 2019 - 11:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): This hour the very latest from Iraq. In one of the bloodiest 24 hours since protests there began.

More on the breaking news from the Hillsborough disaster as the former policeman in charge is found not guilty.

We are also live this hour in Antarctica as the climate crisis deepens.

The American president's lawyer, mired in new allegations about what he was up to in Ukraine.

Plus we are on the cusp of an F1 extravaganza here in Abu Dhabi.

Two major stories in the Middle East region right now. Curfews have been imposed in cities across southern Iraq after at least 13 people were killed

in fresh protests in Nasiriyah. It follows an overnight attack on Iran's consult in Najat. Tehran is demanding the Iraqi government respond firmly

to those behind it.

Meanwhile in Lebanon, protesters are more peaceful but political unrest and a failing economy raising fears of a resurgence of sectarian tension. Sam

Kiley is joining me here and Ben Wedeman is live from Beirut for you.

I want to start in Iraq and one of the bloodiest 24 hours since protests there began just over a month ago.

Sam, what is going on?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the short answer is this is a Shia uprising against a Shia government that is dominated or

heavily influenced by Tehran, a Shia theocracy. Right at the center is the city and it is there the Iranian consulate was burned. It's the second

attempt to burn one inside a month.

This is how it unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KILEY (voice-over): Live rounds snap as they fly past. Automatic weapons in use against Iraqi civilians in Nasiriyah. At least 13 dead as riots and

demonstrations continue in their second month against the government, apparently bereft of any response about violence.

This is blood, he says, this is Iraqi blood.

A lot has been spilled already. Well over 300 dead and 15,000 injured across the center and south of Iraq. Tens of thousands have been

protesting against the Shia dominated government's dominant corruption, mismanagement, sectarianism and increasingly against Iran's close

involvement in Iraq's political life.

Here torching the consulate of Iran, as Shia theocracy in Najat, the heart of the Shia religion. Not long ago such an act would be unthinkable but

anti-Iranian feeling is so high, it's the second time rioters have tried to burn an Iranian consulate in this Shia region this month.

"When the consulate was set on fire, all the riot police and the security forces started firing on us as if we were burning the whole of Iraq," he

says.

Iran has called for a firm response from the Iraqi government after its diplomats were evacuated from the burned consulate. The U.S. and other

nations have joined the U.N. in calling on the Baghdad government to meet the demands from the streets for new elections.

The prime minister has offered to resign weeks ago but he remains in office. He summed up the national frustration.

[11:05:00]

KILEY (voice-over): He said, "I've lived in deprivation and hunger for years. My life can be briefly described as injustice after injustice."

Iraq's government is showing no signs that it understands this but it is comfortable with using brute force.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KILEY: Now the Iraqi government coincident with this, set up a crisis committee. The officer put in charge of the area has already been removed

after less than a day in the job.

They're clearly deeply paralyzed; it's been nearly two months, the death toll going up steadily. Iranian influence is slipping away at a time when

their economic influence is slipping away because of sanctions there. So it's a bad time for Iranian influence in the region.

How does the central government grab that back?

Will it resort to further violence or allow the demonstrators' philosophy to win?

ANDERSON: That Iranian influence seen as malign by so many actors in this region. Thank you for that.

Ben, more than six weeks of protests where you are in Beirut and across the country. It is important to point out they have been largely peaceful.

But as this political deadlock drags on, how big a risk is there that tempers will flare?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The risk is very much there. And when violence has flared here, it has really intensified the

fear among many Lebanese that what started as a peaceful uprising or protest movement could deteriorate into something much worse.

But for many Lebanese, particularly of the older generation, the memories of the 1975 civil war are still very vivid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): A protester hands out flowers for a peace march in Beirut, organized by women in an area torn by tensions. Tuesday night

clashes broke out between youth in the predominantly Christian neighborhood of Ain Remmaneh and the adjacent mostly Shia Muslim neighborhood of Chiyah.

Many of the Christian support the protests while many here are backers of Hezbollah and the other main Shia party, Amal (ph), which are opposed to

them.

These women, many of whom lived through Lebanon's civil war, came out from both sides of the old divide to say, never again.

ZEINAH KARAM, PROTESTER: The people that are fighting now are people who were born after the war so they don't even know what it is.

WEDEMAN: This is an area of deep significance to the Lebanese. I was here in April in 1975, the 15-year civil war broke out.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): This is where Suzanne grew up.

"We were afraid to cross to here," she recalls.

"Every day we saw people killed in front of the barricades when we were small. They destroyed our childhood."

When the protesters entered the Shia neighborhood, they were met with cautious enthusiasm. Some embraced while others tossed rice from balconies

above, a traditional welcome. When the protest broke out last month, they quickly spread to areas where Hezbollah holds sway, shocking a group that

has steadily gained political power in recent years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hezbollah today is kind of caught between a rock and a hard place.

Maha Yahya of The Carnegie Institute's Middle East Center says Hezbollah is struggling to come to terms with the fact that as part of the political

establishment it shares the blame for Lebanon's economic crisis.

MAHA YAHYA, CARNEGIE MIDDLE EAST CENTER: It's a very hierarchical organization where you simply obey so I think it's not one that is used to

dealing with the internal dissent that has emerged from their community.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Hezbollah has moved to muffle voices of dissent but the causes for that dissent, declining living standards and poor public

services, are shared by the vast majority of Lebanese, regardless of religion.

"What matters to us is that we live in dignity, says Um Bashir (ph).

"We're protesting for bread, for water, for electricity, to have the basic requirements of life. Poverty and hunger don't differentiate between Druze

and Christian, between Sunni and Shia."

[11:10:00]

WEDEMAN (voice-over): And that is a stark reality some of Lebanon's leaders have yet to face.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: And many of these leaders seem paralyzed when it comes to forming a new government. The last one resigned on the 29th of October. There

have been consultations but very little actual movement to form a government, to try to grasp with Lebanon's mounting economic problems.

Today, gas stations have been on strike because of the shortage of hard currency, which is used to import gasoline, although people here buy their

gasoline with local currency.

There's a possibility that money changers will go on strike tomorrow. So the country is in a state of increasing paralysis and the leaders don't

seem to be able to come to grips with the problems facing this country -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Tone deaf is what many protesters will describe them as. Thank you, Ben.

Before we move on, I would just like to bring a point of clarity to you.

Yesterday at this time we had a banner on the screen that suggested weeks of violence in Lebanon. There have been outbursts of violence, that is

right, that is correct.

But we recognize that they have been instigated by thugs and that, by and large, the protesters themselves have been extremely peaceful. For that,

we must acknowledge the hundreds of thousands across the country.

Well, a not guilty verdict in the retrial of a former police officer who was accused of gross negligence manslaughter in the 1989 Hillsborough

Stadium disaster in Liverpool in England. Don Riddell joins us with more from CNN's worldwide headquarters.

Don, just explain what's happened today and set some context for this, if you will.

Why is this such an emotive story?

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is hugely emotive, Becky, for supporters of the Liverpool Football Club, especially so obviously for the

families who were caught up in this more than 30 years ago now.

This semifinal football match between Liverpool, who at the time were the top team in England, and Nottingham Forest happened at a stadium called

Hillsborough in Sheffield. On that fateful afternoon, 96 supporters were crushed to death.

It happened in full view of the stadium and many, many people who were following the events on radio and on television. What followed that was a

narrative that was put forth by the authorities that the supporters were to blame for the disaster, that they had arrived late without tickets. So

they were drunk and responsible for their own deaths and those of their fellow supporters.

It took a very, very long time for that narrative to be overturned. Initially those deaths were ruled accidental; 21 years after that it was

concluded that actually those supporters were unlawfully killed.

And that opened the door to proceedings against David Duckenfield, who, as you say, at the time was the chief superintendent. He was the most senior

figure in the stadium that day, responsible for the safety and security of all the supporters. He has now faced two trials. The first one ended in a

mistrial.

This one ended within the last hour with a result that I think many people will be surprised about, especially the families.

They are absolutely devastated with this conclusion because, having learned that their family members, their kids, their dads, their aunts and uncles

were unlawfully killed, how can it be that nobody has been found criminally responsible for it?

And with this verdict today, with David Duckenfield, who is 75 years old, being acquitted, being found not guilty on the charges, these Hillsborough

families must be wondering, if anybody is ever going to be found criminally responsible for their deaths.

We have been receiving reaction from some of the people who have been following the trial. Let's hear from some of them now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOUISE BROOKS, VICTIM'S SISTER: Personally I think that everybody needs to remember he wasn't an old man 30 years ago. He knew exactly what he was

doing and he still knows exactly what he's doing. He's really played the system. He's got the best lawyers going. He's been treated like royalty

and it's an absolute sham, an absolute disgrace.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BROOKS: I personally think that everybody needs to remember --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: You've been listening to Louise Brooks, there who lost her brother, Andrew, in the crush.

[11:15:00]

RIDDELL: I've actually got to know Louise over the last few years and I think it's fair to say that this incident, this event, this trauma and

tragedy has shaped her life for the last 30 years.

She lost her brother, who she adored. Her mom and dad passed away early and she has really dedicated pretty much most of her time in the last 30

years trying to get some sort of accountability here.

You can see and hear and tell how she feels about this. And that is going to be reflected across the entire Hillsborough community, both Preston

Crown Court and Liverpool, and across the country because a lot of people who were involved and killed that day didn't actually come from Liverpool.

They didn't necessarily live in Liverpool.

This has been a very, very long-running case. I guess some people will be wondering now if this is the end of it. It may well be. But it is deeply

unsatisfying for the families and their pain and hurt continues.

ANDERSON: Yes, they certainly won't feel like they have any closure on this. Thank you for that.

We're going to take a very short break. Back after this.

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ANDERSON: The U.S. president may be about to leave Rudy Giuliani out in the cold. Donald Trump appears to be distancing himself from his personal

attorney by denying he directed Giuliani to seek out investigations in Ukraine on his behalf.

Now "The New York Times" reports that the president's lawyer was trying to pursue business opportunities in the country at the same time that he was

pressing officials there for dirt on Mr. Trump's political rival, Joe Biden.

While President Trump expects his aides to have his back all the time and at all times, that doesn't seem to work both ways. Giuliani is hardly the

first to learn that the hard way.

Remember Michael Cohen?

He was the president's former fixer, who is now serving prison time on fraud and perjury convictions. Have a listen to this. It all sounds oddly

familiar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Michael Cohen is a very talented lawyer.

Rudy Giuliani is a great lawyer.

I always liked Michael.

I think Rudy is a great gentleman.

[11:20:00]

TRUMP: Well, you have to ask that to Rudy.

They got Cohen totally unrelated to the campaign. I'm not involved.

You know, Rudy has other clients other than me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Brian Klaas is a political scientist at the University of College London and a "Washington Post" columnist and joins me from London

this evening. Doug Heye, a political strategist, is with us from Washington.

Starting with you, Doug, what kind of legal risks do you think Giuliani could be facing at this point?

After all, if "The New York Times" have got their reporting right, this is a case of Rudy Giuliani double-dipping, isn't it?

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It absolutely is if the reporting is correct. You know, one of the things that I've heard so often over the

past few days is more and more Rudy stories have developed, isn't just the political side and the question of whether or not Trump will throw him

under the bus -- by the way, he will ultimately.

What I've heard so often is given the number of interviews that Rudy Giuliani has given over the past couple of years that's left everybody

scratching their heads on why Rudy would say certain things, these interviews that have gone on for 30 minutes, it's also a question of what

else is there?

It may not just be a question of one thing that might have been done illegally but a series of things. This is potentially the hottest water

that Rudy Giuliani could be in. Ultimately, if you're Trump, it's why he's going to have to go.

ANDERSON: Yes and, you know, you say you think he will chuck him under a bus. He's certainly got form, hasn't he, when it comes to his erstwhile

friends.

Brian, Giuliani has emerged as a central figure in this impeachment inquiry against President Trump. Giuliani has a whole load of other issues going

on and legal problems that he may or may not be able to get rid of.

But how does this all play into the impeachment inquiry, do you think?

BRIAN KLAAS, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, I think there's two angles to this in terms of the impeachment inquiry. One is that this

gives more evidence that there was a parallel foreign policy being directed privately and secretly by Donald Trump trying to use his power through Rudy

Giuliani to pressure the Ukrainian government into concocting a bogus investigation of a political rival for personal gain.

But at the same time, you know, one of the things that is so egregious about this is, the more we hear about the testimony from various people

within the administration and around it, is that Giuliani's private foreign policy was being backed up by formal foreign policy.

In other words, Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, has been implicated in some of this, as has vice president Mike Pence and a series of other formal

diplomats.

So the question, I think, now will become was there also formal involvement in this, right, in this potentially criminal behavior, which could be

related to violations of the Foreign Agent Registration Act which has nabbed some other people in the Trump orbit.

So this all shows, I think, that the mantra of drain the swamp was something that Trump said during the campaign and unfortunately it seems he

drained it into his administration and his entourage.

ANDERSON: Yes, that was one of his lines, wasn't it, drain the swamp. He also has talked in the past and is doing so once again about the deep

state. President Trump telling supporters earlier this week that he was pushing back against what he calls this deep state when he intervened in

the case of members of the U.S. military convicted of war crimes.

Let's just remind ourselves of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I stuck up for three great warriors against the deep state. People can sit there in air conditioned offices and complain but you know what,

doesn't matter to me whatsoever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: This move has created tremendous controversy and has also led to a rupture in the top echelon of the military.

This deep state line, Doug, you know, we have to assume is a direct appeal to Donald Trump's base.

So while we're seeing his 2020 sort of strategy emerge here and how will Republicans -- how will the GOP deal with that?

HEYE: Yes, this isn't just a 2020 strategy, it's a 2019 strategy, if you look at the impeachment hearings that we've had the past couple of weeks

and will resume next week.

This is very consistent. We often think of Donald Trump as somebody who just erratically says things, which has a lot of truth to it. But this is

a very strategic drumbeat of his.

He wants to discredit the entire impeachment investigation, so anything he can draw into being the deep state against him, to Democrats targeting him

from day one, whether true or not, is something that he's going to do and then is going to have real effectiveness with his base.

His base is going to believe it. And so I think the decision that he made on this was terrible. But the reality is, when he says I don't care about

the decisions that people in air conditioned offices make, that's going to have a lot of resonance in his base outside of Washington, D.C.

[11:25:00]

ANDERSON: What's he mulling, Brian, over his Thanksgiving dinner, do you think?

We had just yesterday or just ahead of Thanksgiving the U.S. president deciding eventually to sign some legislation in support of, for example,

the Hong Kong protest movement.

Now that has really angered Beijing. They have described that as bullying behavior.

When we think about where Donald Trump is at -- and he often talks about cutting these great deals around the world -- that China trade deal was

really important to him and certainly ought to be important to him going forward as he moves into this campaign period, whatever happens with

impeachment.

What's going on, do you think, in the U.S. president's mind at this point?

KLAAS: Well, that's a very difficult question to answer in general. But I'd say in this instance it's all about impeachment. There is a strategy

here where he could imagine his advisers saying, you need to have a win. You need to have a win in foreign policy with a trade deal or something

like this, where you can claim credit and victory.

But every time Trump even has modest victories, he crushes them with his own tweets about his insecurities. And so I think what's really clear from

his Twitter feed, which is the closest thing we have to an insight into his mind, is that it tends to be about impeachment all the time.

And so even if he has a modest victory, he will be worried about how the evidence that's going to be presented before the Judiciary Committee is

going to play publicly.

And what he's really going to be thinking about is whether anybody like Mitt Romney, when it comes to a Senate trial, will start to break with

Republicans and give potential cover to moderates to say, we agree this is extremely wrong and it may actually rise to the level of an impeachable

offense.

So I think that all of this stuff about policy has unfortunately been subsumed by impeachment and Trump worrying about how damaging that is to

both his presidency and his potential legacy.

ANDERSON: Doug, finally, the U.S. president is invited to testify in the next phase of this impeachment inquiry, which the Democrats, of course, are

trying to wrap up, they say, by Christmas.

What chance?

HEYE: Well, I go with two numbers: either 0 or 100, which may not answer your question directly. But here's what I mean by that.

One, it would be a terrible decision for Donald Trump to testify before Congress, one for Donald Trump's own political future, because of what he

might say and the uncertainty around that; two, it's very unprecedented for presidents to testify before Congress.

The last one was Gerald Ford, explaining his own pardon. Where I would say 100 percent, we know Donald Trump likes a big show and there would be no

bigger show not just in the country but in the world than Donald Trump testifying before Congress.

That could be a shiny object for him. But if I were advising the president, I would tell him to stay as far away as possible.

ANDERSON: Appreciate your time, gentlemen, on what is Thanksgiving. Good day to you both. Good to have you on.

KLAAS: Thank you.

ANDERSON: In Israel, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoys support from loyalists despite facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

With Israel apparently drifting toward its third election, Paula Newton takes a look at the prime minister's base.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The future of Benjamin Netanyahu may well rest on these shoulders, those of his ever loyal

Likudniks. Bibi lives on at a Trump-style rally bolstered by Netanyahu's claims of a coup against him. The prime minister didn't even show up here.

And still...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he's done to Israel in 10 years you cannot deny, he's done so many good things to Israel.

NEWTON (voice-over): This is Netanyahu's base, right wing nationalist supporters who see in the prime minister a man in their own image,

audacious and hard working but a victim and an outsider. His political lifeblood is staked on the pulse of these supporters. Their message.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We support you, don't give up. For us, for the democracy, don't give up.

NEWTON (voice-over): And yet that hasn't stopped the challengers even from within Likud. A former Netanyahu cabinet minister triggered what is so far

a one-man insurrection. He says it's for the good of the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I will be able to form a government and I think I will be able to unite the country and the nation.

NEWTON (voice-over): But Netanyahu loyalists, Nir Barkat, the former mayor of Jerusalem, says the prime minister will win any primary and never be

ousted by his party.

NIR BARKAT, FORMER JERUSALEM MAYOR: I walk around the country and speak to the Likudniks, look at the polls.

[11:30:00]

BARKAT: It will be a huge success for Netanyahu. Challenging the prime minister in the middle, right now, in the timing of it, is a terrible

mistake.

NEWTON (voice-over): But about that timing, despite his party's support, Netanyahu hasn't yet managed to form a new government. Israel in an

unprecedented political stalemate. Two elections, no resolution. They could be headed for the third elections. And you say in Israel --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get rid of the deep state in Israel.

NEWTON (voice-over): And there it is, deep state. Netanyahu's denunciations have gone viral among his base.

NETANYAHU (through translator): I won't let the lie win.

NEWTON (voice-over): "We won't, we won't," they chant, bolstering the Israeli leader in his fight to cling to power. Lies, a deep state, a coup,

a vast left-wing conspiracy, it all reverberates with this crowd, one determined to keep their man in power -- Paula Newton, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That's the story in Tel Aviv. You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from Abu Dhabi.

Still ahead, the founder of CNN, also one of America's biggest landowners. What Ted Turner is doing on that land to help protect the planet. That is

part of CNN's "Call to Earth" initiative. We will explain more about that after this.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These apocalyptic sights are kind of like the warnings about what might happen if

the world doesn't do something about the climate crisis that you keep hearing.

[11:35:00]

WALSH: But instead it's right below us, right here and right now.

What's startling is how much of this immense jungle people have managed to destroy.

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ANDERSON: CNN getting to the very heart of the climate crisis, reporting from where it matters most. Scientists warn, the world faces an

existential crisis. That is according to a new report published by a group of researchers in the "Nature Research" journal. My colleague, Arwa Damon,

went to Antarctica, with what they describe as nine tipping points. Here's just part of her report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nature here gives off a deceptive illusion of indestructibility. It's not. That

is why Greenpeace is fiercely advocating for action at the source but also for the creation of large-scale marine reserves, to give the ecosystem here

a fighting chance.

Scientists are only just beginning to understand the scope of the Antarctic's role as a carbon sink and buffer against climate change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Right. That's Arwa's reporting. You heard from Nick Paton Walsh earlier. So I want to head from Abu Dhabi to all the way remarkably

to Antarctica.

David Holland is the director for the Center of Sea Level Change at New York University here in Abu Dhabi, tonight in Antarctica.

Sir, before we talk about what you are seeing on the ground, what the reality is on the ground, what do you make of these very stark warnings

from researchers?

DAVID HOLLAND, DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTER OF SEA LEVEL CHANGE, NYU: I'm not surprised. I think this has been a building storm, if you will. A couple

of decades ago, people were concerned about a 5 degree change in global temperature could be a tipping point, if you will, that is a threshold

beyond which very large change could be triggered.

More recently it's been updated to be a little bit more tenuous, if you will. From my own perspective, working on ice, even 1 degree is

everything. If you're a little bit below freezing, you have ice. If you warm a little bit, you're above freezing, you have water. So small changes

mean everything in the polar regions.

ANDERSON: I want to bring up some incredible video that your team has shot in Greenland on the matter of ice. The report that we have been describing

tonight says, and I quote here, "several cryosphere tipping points are dangerously close."

You might want to explain exactly what that means. But they go on to say that adding -- that reducing greenhouse gas emissions could slow down the

impact and help us adapt.

You are now in Antarctica.

What is the reality on the ground, sir?

HOLLAND: The reality is, is that we're learning -- originally this was very theoretical. As a mathematician, I had studied this thing from an

abstract point of view initially, as many others have also studied it. This idea that there could be this, quote, "instability" that could be

triggered that effectively would lead to a large amount of the antarctic ice sheet pouring into the ocean and raising global sea levels, the current

estimate of where we are going to study could lead to as much as three meters in decades to centuries, which would have a huge impact around the

globe.

So the summary of all of that is it's moved from the theoretical abstract to the real. And we're seeing evidence of this from satellites. And now

we have a large team of about 100 scientists going to a particular glacier in west Antarctica, supported by about a thousand support folks.

The U.S. Air Force, we have other nations, the United Kingdom, South Korea, UAE is playing a role. And so this is a very large effort to study a very

large and daunting glacier that may have big impacts down the road.

ANDERSON: Yes. And a rise in sea levels obviously would have a serious, dramatic existential threat to a country like the UAE, where you are

normally based, where we are based.

This latest report just days after the U.N. warned emissions to double that of the Paris climate accord target, from what you have seen, are you

telling us that it is too late?

[11:40:00]

ANDERSON: We often say how long have we got? I think people watching this might say come on, isn't this somewhat sensationalized?

What's your message?

HOLLAND: I have two messages. One is -- so I'm a scientist, not a policy advocate. Policy is for other people. We and folks like myself, we're

doing the basic research that underpins all climate science. Everything we talk about on policy has to be founded in science. And that's what we're

doing.

So we're a bit separated from the policy by one degree, if you will, or one step away. So what we're finding is that climate is incredibly sensitive.

To fill in a long story and make it very short, sea level is controlled by glaciers.

The glaciers, their behavior is controlled by warm waters approaching them. The waters are controlled by the atmosphere and we are affecting the

atmosphere.

So we've actually seen evidence of this and hard data in Greenland, where it's significant. However, here in Antarctica, the stakes are really big.

Everything here is really big and it's a massive amount of ice.

We're seeing a similar thing here, with warm water approaching the most vulnerable glacier and it could bring it to its knees in short order.

ANDERSON: Well, it's been fascinating to talk to you. It's an important day to do so, sir. Thank you for joining us.

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ANDERSON: We've just been talking to a scientist in Antarctica. The world facing these dire climate warnings.

So what can we, what can you and I do to help?

CNN's "Call to Earth" initiative provides a multitude of different ways to address climate change, ways that are all part of our everyday lives. This

up next.

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Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. We've just been discussing climate science with a climate scientist out in Antarctica.

This week researchers issued a dire warning about climate change.

They say the Earth is now in a, and I quote, "state of planetary emergency" and that "global tipping points," as they call them, which cause

irreversible changes, are dangerously close to being reached in at least nine ecosystems.

As we learn more about the climate threats facing us all, CNN is launching our "Call to Earth." This is a call to action for the planet. And we make

no excuses for the time that we will spend explaining the risks and looking for and reporting on solutions.

One man who has dedicated his life to the cause is CNN's founder, Ted Turner. He is now the second largest private landowner in the United

States with conservation efforts front and center on his properties.

CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, got a firsthand look at Turner's drive to help protect our planet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once an icon of the American west, free range herds of bison are now a rare sight.

This herd of Castle Rock bison in northeastern New Mexico is especially rare, much like the land they roam and the man who owns them, Ted Turner.

GUS HOLM, VERNIEJO PARK RANCH MANAGER: Those bison, because of their unique genetics, are one of the native species on this landscape that we

help conserve.

GUPTA (voice-over): 1,500 Castle Rock bison now depend on the tourists who visit their home, Vermejo Park Ranch.

JADE MCBRIDE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, TED TURNER RESERVES: One obvious way that guests help us do conservation work is by coming and staying and helping us

generate revenue that we need to do that work. They get a chance to experience nature and really connect with it in a way that they don't get

in their normal everyday lives.

GUPTA (voice-over): At more than 2,200 square kilometers, it's one of the largest ranches in the United States. It has undergone many changes since

Ted Turner purchased the ranch in 1996.

Solar panels and a greenhouse help make the accommodations sustainable but the most significant changes have been to the natural environment.

HOLM: One of the other initiatives that Mr. Turner undertook when he first started the ranch was a real desire to have native trout back on the ranch.

GUPTA (voice-over): The Rio Grande cutthroat trout are an indicator species, the sign of a healthy ecosystem. The restoration project took 18

years but the fish are now thriving in all the property's lakes and streams.

It is a place of contrasts. Extensive conservation efforts alongside fishing and hunting, which, in part, helps control the animal population.

HOLM: If you have too many, it can be overgrazed and you start having impacts on your ecosystem.

GUPTA (voice-over): The conservation efforts are completely funded by tourism. But like everything else there, it's a balancing act.

MCBRIDE: We're not going to go out and just build massive resorts on Ted's properties. Even though it might generate a lot of revenue, that's not our

pattern.

GUPTA (voice-over): It's all part of the mission set forth by Ted Turner so his properties will continue to thrive for generations to come.

MCBRIDE: Ted has a really great quote. "When we connect with nature, we heal ourselves. When we protect nature, we heal our planet." And I think

that that happens when people are here. When they spend time in nature, it's healing to themselves and it helps us protect our planet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, we can all do our bit and that is what "Call to Earth" is all about. Here are five ways.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): The climate emergency might seem overwhelming but while it may be called global warming, each one of us can

make an individual attempt to help. After all, each of us in every country contributes a particular amount of CO2 into the atmosphere. Some depending

on where they live more than others.

But if we make a few small tweaks to our daily routines, together we can make a big impact.

So where to start?

First diet. Changing what you eat can easily have a significant impact because animal agriculture creates about 14 percent of the world's

greenhouse gas emissions, roughly on par with the world's transportation.

In 2017, beef was found to be one of the most damaging foods to the climate. Each kilo consumed produces 26.5 kilos of CO2 emissions, five

times more than chicken or turkey. Converting to planting-based diets could reduce emissions 70 percent, depending on where you live.

[11:50:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Second, travel. Nearly all transport relies on fossil fuels. In the U.S., driving one mile in an average 2016

car emits 404 grams of CO2 equivalence per mile. Taking nearly any other mode of transport will translate into big emission savings.

After walking, cycling is the best option because it has no emissions except those that come from producing the bike. In the E.U., cycling saves

more than 16 million tons of CO2 a year. Driving to the sun almost 426 times would produce the same amount of CO2.

Third, energy. Almost every household appliance needs it. But a few quick changes can make a difference. Switch from incandescent lights, which

waste up to 90 percent of their energy as heat, to LEDs. They use a quarter of the energy and last 25 times longer.

Take cooler showers. The average water heater is set to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Bringing it down by 20 degrees can save 250 kilograms of CO2,

the equivalent of leaving an LED light lit for over seven years nonstop.

Fourth, waste. Think before you buy. The fashion industry creates about 10 percent of global greenhouse emissions and consumes more energy than

aviation and shipping combined.

When you do make a purchase, try to buy in bulk. If you're buying food, bring your own containers and just get the amount you need. In 2016, the

average person living in the E.U. threw out 170 kilos of packaging waste.

And last but not least, plant a garden instead of building a patio out of cement, the production of which creates 8 percent of global CO2 emissions a

year. Planting a garden or even trees helps reduce it.

So from a burger to a bicycle, no one thing can make a big impact but lots of little things can. Sending us your messages on social media using

#CallToEarth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: We are speeding into a weekend that you would not want to miss here in our home of Abu Dhabi. The Formula One Grand Prix capping off what

has been a thrilling season. Before we welcome our superstar guests, Sunday, I thought I'd warm

up the track for them.

[11:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: Whoo! Wow. Is that exhaust gone?

I'm a terrible back seat driver. Whoo!

Ooh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is pole position.

ANDERSON: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So five red lights will come on in succession. As soon as they go out, you're off.

So when we started at pole position, we did a 100-meter burnout.

ANDERSON: What does that mean?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It means the rear wheels are spinning for 100 meters. So we left a mark. So when you watch TV on Sunday, you can say I did that.

ANDERSON: I left my mark on the track.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, our special show starts 7:00 pm here in Abu Dhabi, 3:00 pm London. That is your CONNECT THE WORLD F1 show Sunday. See you then. We

can't wait. Bye for now.

END