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Warring Sudanese Factions Violate Latest Cease-Fire; Palestinian on Hunger Strike Dies in Israeli Prison; White House Says Russia's War Effort Has "Backfired"; Hollywood Writers on Strike; AI Pioneer Says Some Regulation Necessary; Spain's Reservoirs Drying Up; German Foreign Minister Calls for Binding Renewable Energy Targets. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired May 02, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): I'm Becky Anderson, live from Abu Dhabi for, you this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
Coming up this hour, 800,000 people could flee Sudan, as the conflict shows no sign of ending.
Rockets fired from Gaza after a prominent Palestinian detainee dies during a hunger strike in an Israeli prison.
Hollywood writers walk off the job, shutting down production of some of TV's hottest shows.
And we'll have all of the extravagant fashion from the Met Gala for you later in the show.
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ANDERSON: Well, 800,000 refugees, that is the startling forecast from the United Nations about the number of people who could flee Sudan in a
conflict that shows no sign of ending anytime soon.
Sudan's military and the paramilitary rapid support forces or RSF both appear to be repeatedly violating truce extensions. Their respective
leaders locked in a bloody power struggle that has claimed hundreds of lives, injured thousands more and inflicted misery on those stuck in battle
zones, with dwindling food, water and power.
Our reports see two sides may hold cease-fire talks in Saudi Arabia. That country an initial entry point for some of the 100,000 Sudanese citizens
and thousands more foreign nationals, who have already fled the fighting. Larry Madowo reports from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, where more people
fortunate enough to escape the fighting are still arriving.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the first Americans to arrive in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the U.S. Naval ship
Brunswick. Its small comfort after an anxious two weeks of conflict in Africa's third-largest nation.
MOHAMED KHALED, SUDANESE AMERICAN EVACUEE: I'm not going to lie to you, I didn't really like it. If it was up to me, I would have stayed to see
things out. But unfortunately, it just got too bad, you know. The situation got worse and worse by the minute, you know what I mean?
There was no water, there was no electricity.
MADOWO: The sport city has become the main route out of Port Sudan. Several broken ceasefire later, people are desperate to escape.
REEM, AMERICAN GRADUATE STUDENT, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: I'm basically doing a masters and so I was in the Sudan to like to research ironically on these
very same topics.
MADOWO: How's your family?
Do you have family back in Sudan who cannot leave because maybe they don't have dual nationality in other places?
REEM: Yes, of course, I mean, that's the reality for most people that are currently in Sudan, is that because of the hierarchy of citizenship, the
way that it works, obviously, a lot of people couldn't even afford to leave Khartoum because of the prices of bus tickets.
MADOWO: U.S. officials say about 1,000 Americans have been evacuated since the conflict began by land, sea or air after initially saying it was too
dangerous to get private citizens out.
This operation only brought a hundred U.S. citizens across the Red Sea but there are so many more still stuck in Port Sudan hoping for transport like
this to get them to Jeddah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been working very closely with international partners around the world and here in Saudi Arabia with our Saudi partners.
MADOWO: Will there be more U.S. ships today or in the next few days?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not that I know of.
MADOWO: As families escape the fighting, there are lighter moments, as even in war, kids will still tease their parents.
How do you feel about having left Sudan?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very good.
MADOWO: How was it?
Was it scary?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wasn't scared but she was scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She absolutely handled herself 100 percent.
MADOWO (voice-over): Larry Madowo, CNN, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Those in Larry's report arriving from Port Sudan, which has become the epicenter for thousands of people trying to flee for safety.
Next hour here on CONNECT THE WORLD, with me, Becky Anderson, I'll speak to two American citizens who recount a chaotic journey out of Sudan and say
their government wasn't there to help them. That's coming up next, here on CNN.
Well, anger and uncertainty in the Middle East, authorities in Israel and in Gaza report a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza, as tensions flare
after the death of a prominent Palestinian prisoner. Khader Adnan, who became a symbol of Palestinian resistance after an 87-day hunger strike,
has died.
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ANDERSON: Other prisoners have begun their own hunger strikes. Hadas Gold is in Jerusalem with the very latest.
HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some 22 rockets in the last 1.5 hours were reportedly fired from Gaza into Israel, affecting mostly the
communities right around the Gaza Strip. We are getting reports of at least three injuries, one of them a 25-year-old man in serious condition as a
result of shrapnel.
As of right now, the Israeli military has advised people living near the Gaza Strip that they can go about their days as normal. They do not need to
stay near protected areas.
We are hearing from the militant factions in Gaza, who are claiming responsibility for these rocket fires, saying that it is a preliminary
response to the heinous crime, they say, of Khader Adnan's death.
Adnan was a well-known figure here, really a symbol of Palestinian resistance and for Palestinian prisoners. He was once a spokesman for the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He had been arrested at least 10 times since 2004 and this was not his first hunger strike.
He had been on at least five hunger strikes in the past. This one, he was found unconscious this morning, the Israeli prison authorities say, after
more than 80 days of this latest hunger strike.
The Israeli prison authority say he had refused medical treatment during his hunger strike. However, his attorney did tell army radio that they had
requested that Adnan be released to a civilian hospital. They did not believe that the prison authority medical clinics were well equipped enough
for Khader Adnan.
But beyond the rockets, the reactions we are seeing from the Palestinians is a general strike in the West Bank and Gaza. Everything from shops to
schools are closed as a result. And we are seeing, from other Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, who are taking on their own hunger strike in
response to Khader Adnan's death.
We are also hearing from his wife, who says she does not want these types of rocket fire from Gaza. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDA MUSA, KHADER ADNAN'S WIFE (through translator): Not a drop of blood was spilled during the previous prisoner's hunger strikes. Today, we say,
with the rise of the martyr and his accomplishment of what he wished for, we do not want a drop more blood to be spilled.
We do not want someone to respond to his martyrdom. We do not want rockets to be launched and then for Gaza to be struck after.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLD: Now this, her request was made before this latest barrage of rockets. We have not yet heard from any sort of Israeli military response
to this latest barrage. There was a smaller, I think about three rockets fired earlier today, the Israeli military responding with tank fire.
We have not learned yet whether they are taking any airstrikes in response to this latest round. I think we should expect something. The Israeli
military now has a policy that rocket fire is responded to, no matter what.
And especially because this was a rather larger barrage, there were some serious injuries as a result, I think we can expect some sort of response.
The Palestinian Authority, the prime minister regarding Adnan's death, he called it a deliberate assassination as a result of what he said was
refusing his request to release him and neglecting him medically -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Hadas, thank you.
Well, the White House says there have been more than 100,000 Russians wounded or killed in Ukraine since December. And the Biden administration
says that figure shows that Russia's war effort has backfired. CNN chief international security correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, is live in
Zaporizhzhya.
Nick, any reaction to this from either Russia or Ukraine?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The Russians have said clearly through the Kremlin spokesperson that they don't
see any way why Washington is able to come up with such estimates.
The only official told me it's just over 5,000 dead. The numbers presented by John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesperson, are staggering.
But it's important to point out that they show four wounded for every dead, a tally which you might think reflects a casualty evacuation system
slightly superior to that which the Russian military is shown on the battlefield.
They are clear, too, that they think since December alone, 20,000 Russians have died and half of those are Wagner employees or contract mercenaries
around Bakhmut, most likely.
Those numbers are exceptionally high, even on their own but do possibly reflect the human waves of convicts recruited by Wagner that Ukrainian
forces have reported running at them on the trenches around Bakhmut, particularly brutal fighting. I think a lot of questions will be asked --
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WALSH: -- as to where this U.S. information has come from. It's utterly stark and staggering but it does provide a window onto the volume of losses
Russia has managed to sustain during what they thought would be a successful winter counteroffensive.
And now the fighting continues around Bakhmut, with the loss announced yesterday of a former U.S. Marine. Here's some of the latest information
from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice-over): It was hard to get much uglier. But each dawn still the battle for Bakhmut grinds on. Ukraine Monday said it had pushed Russian
forces back who had abandoned positions.
Months of agonizing fighting for about a football field every day, say analysts, leaving little standing and Russian injured. The soldiers here
said abandoned.
There was a guy laying there in the reeds, he says, yelling, "Guys, come and help me," for three days, only 100 yards from the Russians.
Also emerging too, on this, the Road of Life, the last way in and out of the city, news of the death of Cooper "Harris" Andrews, aged 26, a former
U.S. Marine and firefighter from Cleveland, Ohio, who felt compelled to join Ukraine's fight.
WILLOW ANDREWS, COOPER'S MOTHER: Cooper wanted to correct things. We had a lot of conversations about fashion.
I said, "Cooper, so that means you're just going over there to drive an ambulance?"
And he said, "No. You just don't believe in stuff; you like do something about it."
[17:35:08]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harris, let's make a picture for our history.
WALSH (voice-over): Here he is near the front line in January as part of the foreign legion. Described as ideological to the core, anti-
authoritarian, his body has yet to be recovered from Bakhmut as the fighting is too intense. His mother recalled the last time they spoke.
ANDREWS: I asked Cooper, because I'm like, Cooper's mom.
Like, "Is there anything I can try and get to you or send you?"
And Cooper said, "Yes. Can you send me hot sauce and chopsticks?"
So I have like 1,000 chopsticks in my house because I was trying to get chopsticks for everyone. I figured, Cooper needs chopsticks and I have all
these little packets of hot sauce that I was going to send to Cooper.
WALSH (voice-over): Over the past weeks, graphic battle footage has emerged showing what it's like when Russians get into a Ukrainian trench
network. Here, a soldier races into cover.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
WALSH (voice-over): But soon a shell hits. They are all miraculously OK. But the attack has started.
Watch and you see a Russian approach and throw a grenade. He misses and they go on to shoot down Russians advancing meters from them. Shells
continue to land. The attack persists for over 10 minutes but the brutal fight for Bakhmut goes on and on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: Becky, we might be forgiven for not being able to keep track of the various claims over who is control of Bakhmut. A few weeks ago Russians
were confident they were about to encircle the remaining Ukrainian troops in it.
Then we heard Russian figure Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, saying if he didn't get more artillery shells, his guys
might have to pull out of the city altogether, a startling public admission, regardless of what there is behind it.
And then in the last 24 hours, Ukrainian officials saying that they've seen Russian troops abandoning positions and they've been able to move forward.
It's hard to tell what's really going on here. But it's certainly not the swift victory that Russia began the winter with.
So this continued focus on a deeply symbolic but strategically less vital city has shown through these White House figures the extraordinary loss of
Russian resources expended on this one single goal, ahead of a counter offensive.
But pretty much anyone you talk to, even on the Russian side, accept that Moscow is going to need everything it possibly can to hold on to the parts
of Ukraine they still occupy.
ANDERSON: Nick, appreciate it, thank you.
Well, Hollywood is on hold, sort of. The Writers Guild of America, as it's known, is on strike against the big Hollywood studios, effectively shutting
down the process of writing new movie and TV scripts.
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ANDERSON: Production on existing scripts can still go on. So it may take some time for the strike to really impact things. It's not just about pay
and benefits this time. Some major issues remain unresolved, including how to deal with streaming programs as well as the threat, let's call it that,
from AI.
CNN's business senior media reporter, Oliver Darcy, joining us.
Let's start with that threat, as it were, from AI.
Is it an existential threat to the industry?
What are members of the guild saying?
What's your sense at this point?
OLIVER DARCY, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, the members of the guild regarding AI, they want some assurances from the studios that
artificial intelligence is not going to take their jobs. And they want some guidelines established to make sure that doesn't happen.
We have now more than 11,000 workers that are striking. There are a number of issues, it's not just AI. I think one of the main things, actually, that
they are disputing with the studios is regarding streaming and how that has totally revamped the business.
And so, regarding residual fees and how many writers are employed by shows, I think those are the main sticking points that you've seen emerge in these
negotiations, which have been occurring over the past six weeks.
But now, Hollywood is on strike and you're going to see some immediate impacts with what these writers protesting without a contract.
ANDERSON: Can you see this ongoing?
I mean, is this something that's going to continue for some time?
These are two big issues, aren't they?
Streaming, that's not going away, and so there's going to have to be some sort of resolution on that.
AI is a much, much bigger issue, surely?
DARCY: Yes, I think this is probably, I think most people expect this to go on for some time.
The question is really, how long?
And so there are going to be some immediate impacts; for instance, late night comedy shows, those you should expect to immediately go to reruns
starting tonight because there's going to be no one to write them.
Daily soap operas as well. But those other shows that are supposed to debut in the fall, there's some more leeway there. So we will see what happens,
if the strike does go on for months. Those could also be postponed.
There are some big issues. So I'm not sure how quickly they are going to be resolved. The AMPTP, which represents the studios, they are saying they are
willing to budge and move up on some other things but that basically they have hit a standstill with the writers about things concerning streaming.
The main issue at this point, according to AMPTP, is that, because streaming services have revamped the way shows are produced, there's only
about 10 episodes per streaming season versus 20-plus for a broadcast network.
Because that's the case, the studios employ less writers. And the writers want to account for this. The studios are saying no. And so that's the main
clashing point at this point, it seems. Unclear how to resolve and when the strike will wrap.
ANDERSON: Yes, and you might think, well, we can probably get away with watching a couple of reruns of these late night shows. But really -- that's
not the issue here, is it?
There's a much broader issue about where this industry goes next. And these writers sit at the heart of that. Thank you, Oliver, good to have you on,
mate.
Just ahead, forget political theater, think debt limit drama. We will take you inside a high stakes fight in Washington that could have a serious
impact on the global economy. Why you should care, it's coming up.
And later, the godfather of AI has quit his job at Google. We will tell you about the warning he is now giving about the technology, that we have just
been discussing with Oliver, that he helped create.
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ANDERSON: The U.S. has arrived at what some observers are calling a high stakes moment in its debt ceiling standoff. Now a source says that
President Joe Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have agreed to meet a week from today, as a potential default looms.
Treasury chief Janet Yellen says that the U.S. government could run out of money to pay its obligations in less than a month. She is urging Congress
to act and avert what she describes as an economic catastrophe, that could rock not only the U.S. economy but the entire global financial system.
Capitol Hill reporter Melanie Zanona joins us now from Washington, D.C.
It feels like we are listening to an exaggeration here by Janet Yellen.
Are we?
And what is the talk on the Hill, Melanie?
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some Republicans certainly think that that new deadline is not real. But I will tell you, this letter has
injected some new urgency into this debt ceiling standoff.
However, you are seeing both sides really double down in their positions instead of softening on them. You had Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer
reiterate his calls to pass a clean debt ceiling hike without any conditions.
He's even getting backing from some red state Democrats, up for reelection next year. That's a critical sign of where the winds are blowing.
Then on the Republican side, they are completely united behind speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has called to pass a debt ceiling hike in exchange for
spending cuts. That's something they passed in the House. Senate Republicans say they are supporting McCarthy and won't do anything without
his blessing.
So we are continuing to be at a stalemate here. We are nowhere closer to finding an actual way to solve this crisis. And there are only a few weeks
left that Congress is in session, before that potential June 1st deadline.
So really, all eyes are on this meeting at the White House on May 9th between speaker Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden and some of the other
congressional leaders. But someone is going to have to budge in that meeting.
So we are watching very closely to see any signs of movement between now and then or after then; right now, it's just shaping up to be a high stakes
game of chicken. And the stakes could not be higher for the United States in the rest of the country and world.
ANDERSON: Yes, well --
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: -- I'm glad you added the world there, because that was our point in going into this. This is not just impactful in the United States,
of course, but should the worst-case scenario develop, it has a real impact on those who are watching this, wherever they are watching in the world.
Melanie, good to have you on, thank you.
Should there be a moratorium on artificial intelligence technology?
We've been discussing that on this show and that is what the so-called godfather of AI is now saying. Geoffrey Hinton just quit his job at Google
to warn about the dangers of technology he helped develop.
His decision to step down comes as alarm bells are sounding about the risks of AI powered chatbots to spread misinformation and eliminate jobs. He
isn't the only one concerned. Apple CEO and founder Steve Wozniak also speaking out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE WOZNIAK, APPLE CO-FOUNDER: Look at how many bad people out there are just hitting us with spam and trying to get our passwords and take over our
counts and mess up our lives.
[10:25:00]
WOZNIAK: And now AI is another more powerful tool and it's going to be used by those people for basically evil purposes. And I hate to see
technology being used that way. It shouldn't be. And probably some types of regulation are needed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Wozniak and Hinton are not the only two figures speaking out about this. CNN's Anna Stewart has been following this. She joins us
from London.
We've been having this discussion on this show. In the UAE, where I am, Abu Dhabi, has an AI university here. We had the chancellor just on recently,
talking about how worried a lot of people are about AI.
We know there's AI for good, we see it across health care. You've been doing a lot of work on how AI is being ejected across industries. But there
is also this AI for bad. That is, to all intents and purposes, why we have seen, he says, the resignation of Geoffrey Hinton.
What's been the reaction to his move, Anna?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think the fact that Dr. Hinton was one of the big pioneers of AI, did a lot of work in your networks, really the
foundation for a lot of AI technology you see today, because it's him coming out, quitting his job so he can warn about the risks of AI without
interfering with his employer, says quite a lot.
I think a lot of people are pausing as a result of this. It comes after a letter was signed by some 1,000 tech experts a few weeks ago, also calling
for a pause to AI development. It's to do with the unintended consequences of this sort of technology and just how fast it's being developed.
The concerns are threefold. The first, is the immediate problem that Dr. Hinton sees, of what is real and what is not.
How are people going to know, what is AI generated or AI manipulated and what is real?
We are seeing this every single day. Some examples are fun, some are really serious. We have everything from a new song coming out that appears to be
by Drake and The Weeknd and then you find out, once it's been downloaded, hundreds of thousands of times, it was actually AI generated.
Or you've also got all the photos, you've got a picture of the pope in a puffer jacket but it's not real.
Without that label, would you know?
These are the issues that Dr. Hinton worries about. He also looks longer term. The issue of disruption to jobs and whether enough thought has really
been put into what it means for people's jobs in the very short term, given how quick this technology has been rolling out.
But also, is AI becoming too smart?
Will it be smarter than people?
He thinks that will happen much sooner than expected, just a few months ago, really.
ANDERSON: Yes, sentient is the word, isn't it?
And people are really concerned about that. A very healthy discussion, I have to say, going on about the regulation of AI. Many people say the world
didn't regulate the internet and see where we are now.
And lots of talk now about regulation around AI and, if there were to be regulation, by whom?
Obviously, regulation would be by governments but they are so slow to catch up on new technology, as we've seen. It's going to be really interesting to
see what this one develops. It's always a pleasure to have you on, thank you very much indeed. Anna Stewart, also the host of a show on CNN called
"DECODED," which is jolly good and decodes much of what is going on in the world of new technology. Thank you, Anna.
Just ahead, many of Spain's reservoirs are at a fraction of capacity. How the drought is putting Europe's food supply at risk.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back, I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. The time here is half past 6:00 in the evening. Wherever you are watching
CONNECT THE WORLD, you are more than welcome.
Your headlines this Tuesday: at least 22 rockets have been fired from Gaza toward Israel, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. Most fell in open
areas. This follows the death of prominent Palestinian prisoner, Khader Adnan, who spent almost three months on hunger strike.
The United Nations says it's bracing for 800,000 refugees fleeing the ongoing conflict in Sudan. More than 100,000 have left so far, most into
neighboring Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.
Residents of Khartoum in the meantime, report more fighting today despite a 72-hour truce and thousands of those residents are trying to flee.
Hundreds -- sorry -- Hollywood's writers are on strike. They want better pay and benefits from the big studios but are also concerned about how to
calculate the value of streaming shows and about the increased use of AI technology in writing. The last strike in 2007 lasted 100 days and delayed
production of movie and TV shows.
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ANDERSON: Well, the European Union's biggest exporter of fruit and veg is facing a nationwide drought. Spain has had three straight years of below
average rainfall and water supplies there are shrinking at an alarming rate. CNN's Fred Pleitgen recently traveled to one of its most important
reservoirs. Have a look at what he found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From afar, even a natural disaster can look majestic. But up close, the
full impact of the global climate emergency is clear to see.
This is the Sau Reservoir near Barcelona, normally one of the largest bodies of fresh water in this part of Spain. But months of drought and the
water levels are so low, an entire medieval village, usually underwater, has come to light.
PLEITGEN: The folks here say normally, he barely be able to see even the tip of the medieval church, because it would be almost fully submerged. But
now, as you can see, the church is very much on land and the authorities here fear things will get much worse once the summer's heat really sets in.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Sau Reservoir is already at less than 10 percent capacity. And that's causing hundreds of thousands of acres of
farmland to dry up. All of this wheat is probably lost. Farmer Santi Kaldidiwa (ph) shows me why.
"The grain (ph) should be milky," he says. "We're in a critical moment. If it doesn't rain, this will end up empty. We should be seeing the grain come
up to here. But it's only like this. If it doesn't rain in the coming week, the crop will be zero."
But there is no rain in sight and temperatures in Spain have skyrocketed.
Scientists at the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology are trying to find ways to make very little water go a longer way.
Chief scientist Joan Girona says efficiency needs to be maximized.
JOAN GIRONA GOMIS, RESEARCHER, IRTA: It's our goal. Making the most of every drop of water.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Just like the crops, the people in this area are also in survival moaned. Dozens of towns are without water and need to get
it trucked in.
[10:35:00]
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The village Castasilla (ph) hasn't had any for about a year and residents say they can't even remember the last time it
rained.
"I don't recall," Juan (ph) tells me. "It's been a long time, a year more, without proper rain. Nothing."
This region of Spain is a bread basket for all of Europe. And while the authorities say they're building desalination plants to combat the water
crisis, the head of the region's water authority says life here might change dramatically soon.
SAMUEL REYES, DIRECTOR, CATALAN WATER AGENCY: Sometimes, I think about the capacity of the territory. I mean, is this a country where we can handle
the increase of citizens, tourists, industry, farmers, agriculture?
Or we should stop?
PLEITGEN (voice-over): That point might be closer than some believe.
Back at the Sau Reservoir, authorities are actually draining most of the remaining water to prevent this precious and every scarcer resource from
getting contaminated by the sludge of the bottom of this once-mighty lake - - Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Barcelona, Spain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Today in Berlin, high-level representatives from more than 40 countries are meeting to try to find solutions for the climate crisis. This
meeting is a precursor for the global climate conference in November, which will, of course, be hosted here in the UAE, COP28.
The message today in Berlin was clear, we are not acting fast enough. The COP28 president, Sultan Al Jaber, said the conference in Dubai will focus
on a just transition for the global south and that, right now, there is simply not enough cash being put toward that issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SULTAN AL JABER, PRESIDENT, COP28: We must supercharge climate finance. We must supercharge climate finance, making it more available, more accessible
and more affordable to drive delivery across climate pillars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Fred Pleitgen is back from Spain and he's monitoring what's going on at that conference.
And Dr. Sultan Al Jaber talking about a just transition there, talking about trying to ensure momentum for climate cash. Frankly, he has a very
big point there. He also talked about restoring some climate trust.
There will be a global stock take ahead of this COP28 meeting. This is the first ever global stock take. That is important because it will really lay
out where the world is and what needs to be done next, to try to ensure we can protect this only planet that we have.
The question is, how successful can they be at this point?
Where are we at?
PLEITGEN: Yes, it's difficult but one of the things we learned in Spain and being at the summits today, is how urgent some of these things are and
how important they are to people on the ground.
When you're down there on the ground in Spain, the people in that region are really angry at people who are perceived to be wasteful with water. And
one of people that we spoke to on the ground told me, he said, he thinks one of the major conflicts in the world in the future will be over fresh
water supply.
And that brings us directly to the conference that we saw in Berlin today because Annalena Baerbock, the foreign minister of Germany, one of the
hosts today, said that climate change, global warming, is already a massive source of instability.
And that is, of course, where measures to combat climate change are important and that is, of course, where that stock taking comes in as well.
Annalena Baerbock said that, in setting the agenda for COP28, which is going to be so important in your neck of the woods in the UAE at the end of
the year, one of the things that richer nations will have to do -- this goes back to climate finance of course, what Sultan al-Jubeir was talking
about as well -- was helping poor nations deal with the impact of climate change.
That's not even stopping or trying to stop climate change, trying to stop global warming; that's dealing with the impact that's already there.
The other big thing that Annalena Baerbock was talking about is renewable energy, trying to cut carbon emissions and getting really real about
renewable energy, how fast it's being developed and where it is being placed. And to also be honest about that and set real benchmarks at COP28
as well.
The German foreign minister today said she believed that the world is moving too slowly. Here's what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNALENA BAERBOCK, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We all know it's not enough to describe that we are not meeting our targets.
[10:40:00]
BAERBOCK (through translator): We have to say how we want to change course to finally get back on the 1.5-degree path.
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PLEITGEN: The 1.5-degree path, of course, that is the goal set out by the nations for COP28. And in general, for the world to prevent the world from
getting any warmer than 1.5 degrees.
And, right now, the industrialized nations are saying they are failing in that goal. One of the things I did want to mention, Becky, is you are
talking a lot about Sultan al-Jubeir.
There did seem to be a lot of momentum there. And one of the things that he has said is he wants to bring that businesslike attitude to COP28, to try
to make sure that results are actually achieved -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. COP28 needs to deliver an action plan that engages the public and private sector to achieve transformational results.
And that will be underpinned, he said, by the response to the global stock take that we referenced earlier.
Those are the words today, of the president of COP28, speaking in Berlin. Fred, thank you.
We will be closely following the leadup to COP28 here in the UAE on all of our CNN platforms. You can keep up with those here on CONNECT THE WORLD, as
well as on cnn.com/climate or on your CNN app as you would expect.
Right, we are taking a very short break, back after this.
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