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Quest Means Business

VP Pence Facing 24-Hour Deadline To Take Steps To Remove Trump; Big Tech Takes Action Against Trump In The Last Days Of Presidency; Prince Charles Releases Terra Carta; President Trump Set For Historic Second Impeachment; Prince Charles: COVID Pandemic Has Been A Wake-Up Call; U.S. Designated Cuba A State Sponsor Of Terrorism; U.S. Police Bracing For More Violence After Capitol Siege; Fighting Food Waste For A More Sustainable Planet. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired January 11, 2021 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:45]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A tough day on tech stocks, the Dow is fighting back late in the day, but it's still already on the

screens. The market is down although perhaps not as bad as it might have been, 31,000 is still just about held. The markets, but what a day so far.

The date is set. Democrats say Donald Trump will face an impeachment vote on Wednesday.

Also on tonight's program, Prince Charles --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE CHARLES, PRINCE OF WALES: I have always believed that the private sector has really the key to the solutions tool.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: An exclusive interview with the Prince of Wales who tells me business holds the key to saving humanity from extinction.

We're live, of course from New York. You and I start a new week together on Monday. It's the 11th of January. I'm Richard Quest and I mean business.

Good evening and an extraordinary of news to bring you. In a moment, you'll hear an exclusive interview with His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales.

As we discuss, he tells me how he convinced some of the world's biggest companies to sign up to his action plan on sustainability, climate change.

We must though begin in Washington where tonight, the U.S. Congress is preparing to impeach President Trump for a historic second time, and that

vote could happen by midweek.

The first official steps have been taken on Monday by House lawmakers when they introduced a single article of impeachment. They charged Donald Trump

with inciting an insurrection last week at the Capitol Building. And then in a separate bill, House Democrats are urging the U.S. Vice President Mike

Pence to remove the President from office invoking the 25th Amendment. Now that move is considered highly unlikely.

As for the President-elect Joe Biden, he said, it is clear people must be held accountable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's critically important that there be a real serious focus on holding those folks who

engage in sedition and threaten people's lives, deface public property, and cause great damage be held accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Donald Trump poses an urgent threat to America, so Congress must respond in kind. The House is set to

vote on Tuesday whether Pence should act on the Article 25.

If he does nothing, as is expected, then the House likely will hold the impeachment vote on Wednesday. Democrats have enough votes to pass it.

Our White House correspondent John Harwood is in Washington and joins me now. John, let's take this at a fair clip because there are many events and

I want to cover quite a bit of ground. Let's be clear.

These two bills that were in -- or these two tracks that were introduced. It's unlikely that they -- that even if they pass the Article 25 call to

Pence, he'll do anything about it, correct?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Mike Pence is not going to - - we don't expect -- to invoke the 25th Amendment. You'd have to get a large number of Donald Trump's Cabinet members to go along with taking him

out of the role of President. Certainly, a couple of those Cabinet members who are most disapproving of the things that you've done it have already

resigned: Betsy DeVos and Elaine Chao. So no.

But the threat of the 25th Amendment which Pelosi is highlighting, which Mike Pence through his strategic silence has also highlighted those are

meant to pressure the President, deter him from doing anything more dangerous than he has already done as we saw on the insurrection last week,

and there is a precursor to the accountability step they intend to take later in the week, which is to impeach him, make him the first President in

history to be impeached a second time.

Obviously, he will not be removed from office before the end of his term, that's just nine days away. But it's important in the view of the House

that they register formally for history and for contemporary America, the accountability step of impeaching him.

[15:05:12]

QUEST: And it's important for our viewers who may not be as familiar with, impeachment -- the actual act of impeachment, unlike in other countries,

where the whole process is, including removal is called impeachment. Here it is the act of the House passing the Articles of impeachment that

actually impeaches, not what the Senate does after.

HARWOOD: That's right. It's a two-step process. Think of the impeachment by the House as an indictment by a grand jury and then the trial in the Senate

being the day in court for the defendant. We saw that in the Ukraine matter last year, when the House impeached President Trump. They had a trial in

the Senate. He was acquitted because it takes-two thirds of senators to convict and remove from office a President, and 52 out of 53 Republican

senators voted to keep him in office.

That would not be the case now, although there's still grave doubt that you could get the 17 Republicans necessary to join with Democrats and force him

from office, but Democrats want to move ahead with this anyway. Then the question will be, when does the House transmit the Article of Impeachment

to the Senate? And when do they have to initiate a trial?

They don't have to do it immediately. They can wait. And some have talked about waiting until after Joe Biden's first 100 days. Remember the

congressional leadership today said no, we'll go ahead and move it forward immediately. And Joe Biden has raised the question of whether or not the

Senate could split its time, have a trial for part of the day and then move his agenda in his Cabinet nominees in the other part of the day. All that

is still yet to be determined.

QUEST: John Howard who is in Washington and has busy days ahead, Thank you, sir.

Twitter shares that are down more than six percent after banning Donald Trump on Friday. Twitter has accused him of violating its policies against

glorifying violence that drove many of his followers to the other social media, Parler, which promotes unfiltered speech.

But Parler's platform is also offline. Amazon Web Services says it will no longer house Parler and Parler says it is suing in response.

Brian Stelter is with us. Brian, the doors for -- the avenues for President Trump to communicate directly with his base have been pretty well shut off.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: They have been pretty well shut off. The President could hold an old fashioned press conference, if he

chose. He could deliver a videotape speech on YouTube. I think he's still able to publish on YouTube, although he has not recently.

And Richard, that's part of the issue. The President doesn't seem to be trying to get word out anymore. He held an event today giving somebody an

award and there were no cameras. So we're not seeing the American President on camera, and his Twitter account is his most valuable megaphone, what he

cares about the most and that's been away for several days now.

We all know the President doesn't drink. But it's as if people think he's a drunk driver and they've all taken away his keys. And there is some, you

know, suspicion and in some cases, criticism of the technology companies for perhaps doing this in a coordinated way.

But it reminds me of a couple of years ago when one platform and then all the others banned Alex Jones of InfoWars, once one of these tech CEOs has

the courage to take action, it seems like everybody else has that same courage very quickly.

I don't know if it is coordination so much as they just look around, they want one person to do it, and then everybody else follows because they

believe in this case, they believe Trump is a threat to the public.

QUEST: Brian, I know that the actions of the President have been particularly egregious, but with your First Amendment hat on, with your

"Reliable Sources" hat on, does it make you at all uncomfortable that they have taken these measures?

STELTER: Here is the area that I'm the most interested in now. What's the appeal process? What's the follow-up process? What's the reversal process?

Is there one?

Now different companies are taking different actions. Twitter says this is a permanent ban. Others have suspended Trump's accounts or taking action

against his campaign, which leaves the door open for him to come back in the future.

I do worry, not just in the case of Trump, but also some of his supporters who have been banned, some of these QAnon loons who have been wiped off the

internet over the weekend. Some of these fundraisers, these grifters trying to get money off of gullible Trump supporters, they have been deleted over

the internet off this weekend.

In those cases, those might be some really bad people and some crooks, but in five years, in 10 years, can they come back to Twitter? Is there an

appeals process? I think that's one of the unsolved issues here, one of the unresolved questions as these companies make it up as they go along --

Richard.

QUEST: Right. But if Twitter and others are the new town square and we all accept that you can't shout fire in a crowded theater. And to certain

extent, what the President did was shout fire in a crowded theater, but surely, Twitter et al do have public responsibilities where their bar for

suspending or least eliminating must be high.

[15:10:22]

STELTER: Yes, at the same time, though they are all just, if we just break it down, they are all just private companies and they can all just close

the door and not allow me to buy a ticket to go on the ride. That is true.

However, they have such power that many Americans and many people around the world feel they are like governments, right? Facebook does essentially

act as a government. It is like a nation state. It is so big and so powerful that even though it is just a single private company, I think

that's actually that rings hollow to many people to hear about this, who say this company shouldn't have that much power.

And Trump is actually proving that point to many of his supporters now, many of whom are even angrier that he has been banned and that's causing

even more fury out there in the dark corners of the internet that could actually be very combustible -- Richard.

QUEST: Brian, good to talk to you on this. Thank you. We'll talk more as we progress. Thank you, sir, I appreciate.

Now, for more than half his life, the Prince of Wales has campaigned on the climate crisis. Now he tells me, the business world is finally listening.

My exclusive interview next, with Prince Charles,

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight, Prince Charles tells me that companies are finally realizing they are the key to fighting the existential threat of climate

change.

We spoke in an exclusive interview to mark the launch of his new Terra Carta. Now, as the Magna Carta promoted human rights back in 2015, the

Terra Carta promotes nature's rights and outlines what the private sector can do to help in partnership and harmony.

The Prince of Wales released the plan on Monday and said there is no time to lose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE CHARLES: We simply cannot maintain this course indefinitely. To build a productive and sustainable future, it is critical that we

accelerate and mainstream sustainability into every aspect of our economy.

To move forward, there must be a center of gravity to catalyze such a monumental effort and to mobilize the resources that incentives require.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:15:03]

QUEST: And that is business because one of the charter's goals is to funnel $10 billion into green causes by 2022. And several companies are backing

the initiative: Bank of America, BlackRock, Unilever, BP, and you see the list.

I spoke to the Prince of Wales who joined me from Tetbury, in England. He told me he hopes the Terra Carta will help rescue the world from the

future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRINCE CHARLES: Yes, there is a significance I think in terms of how the Magna Carta was something which inspired a belief in the fundamental rights

and liberties of people. And it seemed to be critical now that we understand as a result of what we've done to nature for so long that nature

herself has her own rights and we have a responsibility to try to remember that.

I mean, there are, I've always felt sacred aspects in all this which the more we desacralize nature, the worse it gets. So that is why it seems to

me the Terra Carta is of such importance, because I hope it enshrines that understanding of why we must work with nature in harmony again, as we

always should be doing,

QUEST: The phrase you use in there was "rescue the world." And I think that that speaks to this idea of being out of disharmony and the way it fits

into your sustainable markets initiative that you announced at Davos last year, but it comes back to this concept of rescue the world.

PRINCE CHARLES: Yes, it seems to me that only now and I've been afraid at this for rather a long time, certainly 40 years or a little bit more, and

it has been what can only be described as an uphill battle to try and persuade people that you can't go on doing the things we've been doing ad

infinitum, without having a terrible price to pay.

And this has been the greatest difficulty. I've always rather subscribed to the catastrophe theory. Unfortunately, as human beings, we tend to leave

everything until it's virtually too late and we're just about to fall over the edge of the cliff.

So it's only literally in the last 18 months or so that I think that the mood has changed and people have become much more concerned suddenly about

the situation we face, both from a global warming climate change perspective, and, of course, the loss of biodiversity because with both

these threats and huge challenges, we are faced with an existential situation -- a threat.

And now last, suddenly, the financial services sector, capital markets sector, banks and others are all suddenly taking a real interest in this,

driven, of course, a lot of them by the change in outlook for many investors and many shareholders who are putting more and more pressure on

the company's banks and financial sector.

Also, there are so many young people I know who are now employees, in many of the companies around the world who are also pushing as hard as they can,

for action to be taken to rescue the situation, to restore biodiversity before it is too late, and also to try to decarbonize our economy as fast

as possible.

QUEST: The difference this time seems to be the call and involvement of business. Now business is not altruistic in an abstract sense. And you say

today about industry and finance, and business as only they are able to mobilize the innovation scale and resources required to transform our

global economy. Is that the difference that now the finance industry, the banks, business recognize as the significance.

PRINCE CHARLES: Yes, suddenly, they have started in a much bigger way to recognize this and if I may say so, I've been enormously assisted in what

we've been trying to do all this year by Brian Moynihan, the Chairman and CEO of the Bank of America, who is my cochairman of the Sustainable Markets

Initiative, and his role has been quite of dramatic importance, I think in terms of encouraging other banks.

We now have a task force, Financial Services Task Force with some very high powered banks and other groups, also asset managers who are joining in this

effort because I've always believed that the private sector has really the key to the solutions tool. But at the same time, it needs to be a private-

public partnership with civil society.

And for so many years, I've tried, whether it was my Rain Forest Project or the International Sustainability Unit I set up to try and drive for greater

awareness of what is required. It's now suddenly that there is greater awareness of what is required.

[15:20:27]

PRINCE CHARLES: But at the same time, there's still out of the 40,000 listed companies around the world, there are still very few who have a

proper carbon transition -- climate action transition plan in place. So there's still a huge mountain to climb, and a lot more people to convince.

And this is why I was so pleased that we've been able to put together a Natural Capital Investment Alliance of other investors in order to try and

bring forward even more finance and to catalyze a greater investment in these important areas.

QUEST: The United States is said to rejoin the Paris Accord under the new administration that will take office next week. As somebody -- I mean, you

were there at the start of Paris, you gave one of the keynote addresses at the start. Do you welcome this development?

PRINCE CHARLES: Yes. I mean, it was obviously very sad that the United States hasn't been able to play as much of a part as it was because of

course, many people around the world have always looked to the United States for leadership as one of the greatest economies in the world. It's

absolutely critical to have the United States involved in playing a key, an essential part.

So from that point of view, the fact that it's poised to rejoin, we hope the Paris Agreement, will make an enormous difference, I think and help to

leverage even further support around the world.

So yes, and I've been very lucky in the number of American companies, as I say, banks and investors, asset managers. They are all now becoming much

more enthusiastic about joining in and forming big -- a big global alliance. We are trying to build alliances and coalitions of the willing in

all the different sectors of the economy and these task forces.

I've encouraged them to try find a way to tackle as many of these issues around de-carbonization and the restoration of biodiversity and all linked

to improving people's lives and livelihoods for the future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: More from Prince Charles later in the program. The role of corporations we're talking about today and climate change, but now we can

see the role of Corporate America as it piles the pressure on Republican lawmakers in the wake of Wednesday's insurrection.

Major Wall Street banks are now suspending political contributions. Goldman, Morgan, and Citi have halted donations altogether. Morgan Stanley

is more targeted pulling support for lawmakers who voted not to certify the presidential election.

Meanwhile, the PGA says it will no longer hold its Championship at Trump's Bedminster Golf Club next year, citing potential damage to their brand. The

outspoken ice cream brand Ben and Jerry's says it's time to get Donald Trump the cold shoulder, figuratively and literally.

Their statement on Thursday read in part, how we respond to the events of yesterday will determine which America we will be.

Resign, impeach, 25th Amendment, not one more day. Ben & Jerry's CEO, Matthew McCarthy is with me. The interesting thing is I mean, and this is

not in the case of Ben and Jerry's, because you've had a lifelong commitment to putting your social policies where your economic policies

are, but the number of companies that have suddenly found morality, that have suddenly decided, I mean, it's not hypocritical, it's just sort of

rather seedy.

MATTHEW MCCARTHY, CEO, BEN & JERRY'S: Thanks, Richard, for having me. I think it's probably important to call out that all businesses express their

voices and their values. Often over time, they do that behind the scenes, through donations or those types of things.

I think all businesses are made of people serving people, and all people have values and I think it's important to be explicit about your values.

Not everybody is going to like them, but you have to put them out there and it is unfortunate that sometimes, it takes violence and the loss of life

before some businesses to actually step forward to say this, we believe it.

But frankly I'd rather that than businesses not put their voices out there.

[15:25:05]

QUEST: So what should happen here? You know, that old phrase, it's never the wrong time to do the right thing. What do you think should happen?

Twenty-fifth Amendment highly unlikely, very complicated. It won't happen. Impeachment, even though it's questionable, whether you're going to have an

impeachment trial after he has left office.

MCCARTHY: Well, I'm not an expert on these topics. I'm not going to pretend to be, but I will say that, as a leader of a business, one of the things

that's most important is stability and confidence, safety.

We have a very unsafe situation in the United States right now, a pandemic that has gone through the roof and it is killing more people now than it

was a month ago. And so as a business owner, it's my responsibility to take care of our people and also to take care of our consumers.

So what I'm so much looking forward to, is for us to move forward for a new administration to come in and to create -- start creating some of the

circumstances that actually help businesses like ours thrive.

QUEST: But then what do we learn from the last four years? If it is not to have been -- I mean, on this program, we've realized during the Trump years

that CEOs are the new moral barometers, to a large extent, because they are the closest to the stakeholder economy. If that is right, what have we

learned?

MCCARTHY: I don't -- listen, I don't know that CEOs should be held in that type of level of the barometer of morality. What I can say is that I think

we've learned that the confluence of running a business, taking care of your staff, taking care of the people that you serve are inseparable from

the communities that businesses are part of.

I think Jerry and Ben, when they founded this business 42 years ago understood that business was one of, if not the most powerful force in

society and it must be part of addressing the stuff that we're facing in our communities. And sometimes people ask me, they say, well, aren't you

afraid of alienating consumers? Or business? Maybe they should just stay out of these topics.

I frankly, think that's really ridiculous. We are part of the fabric of our communities. We employ people. We create economic opportunity. We should be

part of all of the situations.

That doesn't mean that everybody is going to agree, and that's perfectly fine.

QUEST: So I'm not sure whether we were already in the system and were able to hear much of the interview with Prince Charles on climate. Do you agree

with the Prince though, when he says, companies and business now is the key to getting the climate agenda really moved forward? Because it's going to

require cash, it's going to require impetus and its companies that are now which can give it a push forward.

MCCARTHY: Now, overall, yes, I did hear most of the interview, and I think that businesses have an absolute responsibility. They had it yesterday,

they have it today, and they're going to have it tomorrow.

We are central as business people to consumerism and consumption, in partnership with the people that we serve, in partnership with the

communities where our raw materials come from, and the impacts that happen.

I think what is interesting is that this idea of externalities are not really external, even though I don't have to put something on the balance

sheet doesn't mean that I should not be responsible as a business owner, and particularly in collaboration with the people that are directly

affected.

So in short, I think the answer is yes.

And business can move quite quickly. You know, we're in the consumer packaged goods business, and the minute our fans don't support us, we're in

trouble. That's the way it is for business people. So we can actually move quite quickly relative to other organizations and other structures in

society. And so I think it's an exciting time. And I think our consumers are demanding it more than ever.

I think you turn a blind ear to your consumers on these issues, particularly intersections of environment, safety and security,

particularly the pandemic and racial equity. You do those things at your peril as a business owner because consumers are now demanding that

businesses make it clear where they stand on these issues.

QUEST: Matthew, good to talk to you, and we won't get into the interesting debate over which of your flavors I like best. We would have you here well

until well it is over. Thank you. Good to have you, sir. Thank you.

MCCARTHY: Be well, thank you.

QUEST: In the office, I'm sure there is a fierce debate with you, too.

Now coming up, nine days before Trump leaves the White House and the President could make history. Well, he always wanted to be the biggest, the

fastest, and the greatest. He always wanted to tell everybody how it has never been done like this before. No one has ever managed to do what he's

managed to do.

Well, he could be right. He could be impeached. Twice. He would be the first President that that has happened to. In a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:06]

QUEST: Hello. I'm Richard Quest, a lot more on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. We go to White House as Donald Trump faces historic second

impeachment and part two of my exclusive interview with His Royal Highness Prince of Wales. We're going to discuss how the pandemic has been a wake-up

call about our own health and the health of the planet. We would all follow the news headlines as you would expect, because this is CNN and on this

network, the news (inaudible) to us.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that the US State Department has designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. He says

Cuba has repeatedly provided support for international terrorism by granting safe harbor to terrorists and US fugitives from justice. Only five

years ago, the Obama administration removed Cuba from the list.

Police in Washington, DC and across the United States are bracing for more possible violence surrounding Joe Biden's inauguration on January the 20th.

The FBI is reportedly warning there could be armed protests at all 50 State Capitol buildings and at the US Capitol itself.

Prince Charles says the world is more ready than ever to confront the threat of climate change. Speaking exclusively on "Quest Means Business,"

the Prince of Wales told me there had been a sea change in mood across the public and private sectors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE CHARLES, PRINCE OF WALES: It's only literally in the last 18 months or so that I think that the mood has changed. And people have become much

more concerned suddenly about the situation we face, both from global warming climate change perspective and, of course, the loss of

biodiversity. Because with both of these, these threats and huge challenges, we are faced with an existential situation, a threat.

[15:35:00]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Donald Trump always wanted to be the biggest and fastest, and done things that no president has ever done before. You told us that often

enough over the last four years, only he'll get his wish true, perhaps this week, becoming the first US president to be impeached twice.

House Democrats have introduced a resolution charging the President with inciting insurrection for his role in the riots, the vote expected on

Wednesday. The House Speaker is also giving Vice President Mike Pence 24 hours to respond to a call to remove Donald Trump on the 25th amendment and

was considered unlikely.

Our White House Correspondent, Chief White House Correspondent is Jim Acosta. Jim, it is good to have you. Jim, now look, let's be real not

theoretical, in the sense that Pence is not going to do it. Therefore, we are looking at an impeachment vote where the Democrats have the votes,

what's going to get in the way of the President being impeached twice?

JIM ACOSTA, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's not a whole lot at this point. I mean, you're right. They did throw down the gauntlet to

the Vice President and challenge him to remove the President using the 25th amendment of the US Constitution. It's not likely to happen.

Although, I will tell you talking to sources close to the Vice President, he is keeping that option open in the event that the President does

anything else that that, you know, meets the definition of unstable or insane. And, you know, that is something that the Vice President's people

are sort of holding up over the President's head as a threat at this point.

It's not likely to happen because they're worried about what the President is capable of if he's forcibly removed from office or if there's an attempt

to forcibly remove from office, which takes us to the next step, which is House Democrats seem to know all too well that Pence is not going to do

this. And so, they're moving forward with House impeachment proceedings, and they're likely to impeach the President on grounds of inciting that

insurrection that occurred on January 6th at the US Capitol.

And from there, it would go to the Senate. Obviously, it doesn't appear to be much time between now and January 20th for the President to be impeached

and removed from office and convicted in a Senate trial. But, Richard, you know, the President could potentially be put on trial in the Senate after

leaving office.

You know, constitutional scholars there, they're looking at this every which way over here in the United States. And the President may not be out

of hot water yet. He's also been advised and urged not to try to pardon himself. And just over the weekend, a local federal prosecutor here in

Washington, DC was not ruling out the possibility that the President could be charged criminally for what happened on January 6th.

So he's in a world of trouble right now. And as you said the possibility of being impeached twice, we just never thought you'd see anything like this.

QUEST: Jim, give us a feel, what's it like at the White House now? I mean, we, you know, we hear this, we hear that. You all there, what's it like?

ACOSTA: It is surreal. It is one of the strangest things I've ever seen, is probably the strangest thing I've ever seen in the eight years I've covered

this White House. It's absolutely mind-boggling that the President's supporters would attempt some sort of bloody coup up on the Capitol. You

know, that is something that we thought we'd never see in our lifetimes, certainly not here in the United States. It's something that Americans see

half of my other parts of the world and would never think would happen here.

But in terms of what's going on inside the White House, the President is in hiding. And people around the world need to know this. He is hiding from

the cameras. He is hiding from the public. But I'm told that the President feels no remorse about what happened last week, and that he is still bitter

about losing this election and being unable to affect some sort of other outcome.

And so, we are in a dangerous position right now here in the United States, Richard. I take no pleasure in saying that but it is the truth. It is a

dangerous time for the country.

QUEST: Jim Acosta at the White House. Jim, thank you, sir.

Last week's attack shows just how stark the US political divides become, the threat that the Eurasia Group considers more dire than climate crisis.

Eurasia Group just released its biggest risks. The US political dysfunction tops the list, COVID-19, global warming, US-China tensions and so forth.

The global data reckoning rounds out the top five.

Ian is with me, Ian Bremmer, the President and Founder of Eurasia Group. You are listening now to what Jim Acosta was saying about the danger in

these next few days. But this danger, does it disappear after the 20th? I mean, not wanting to make light of it, you know, all we've got to do is

hold our nose and get to the end of next week.

[15:39:50]

IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, EURASIA GROUP: If you think that the United States becomes suddenly less politically dysfunctional, sure I can

buy that there won't be the same level of dysfunction in the Biden administration. But the level of inequality, the divide the thing that

makes so many Americans feel like their institutions are indeed rigged against them.

Richard, that's been growing and for decades. That growth accelerate the under four years of Trump, it ain't going away. And even if Trump's

behavior over the last days, weeks, means that his approval ratings are now at historic lows yet again at 33%. That's about as low as he was down after

the Charlottesville riots. But that's 33% of the country that believes that this election was stolen against him. And those are not people that

suddenly go off happily into the night after Biden becomes president.

They think Biden is illegitimate. And I think the potential for social discord and for greater political conflict in this country is higher than

at any point, frankly, in my lifetime.

QUEST: Right. But, Ian, on this point, you talked about Charlottesville. Look at the list of potential moments when, I suppose, people could have

rebelled those like Betsy DeVos or there's like Elaine Chao, who resigned now. But they didn't resign in October -- in August '17 when the President

defended very fine white nationalists or those s-hole countries that he referred to all separating children from parents at the border, or

congressmen being, of color, told to go back dispersing BLM protest for photo ops, and tell them Proud Boys stand back and stand by.

Now, if that list didn't get you, is it not just naked opportunism to resign now?

BREMMER: Well, to be clear, there are a lot of people that aren't engaging in that naked opportunism even now, I mean, after the insurrection, after

five dead in the Capitol Building, you still had votes in the Senate and House with large numbers of Republicans, a majority of the Republicans that

sit in the House of Representatives still voting to overturn the election outcome. And indeed, I mean, since the tragic events of January 6th, by far

the most significant consequences that President Trump has had to face, not resignation.

It's de-platforming from a number of technology companies, CEOs who played no role in the political process whatsoever. And perhaps, the most

interesting thing is the staunchest critic that I've seen on the global scene of that has been German Chancellor Angela Merkel, France President

Emmanuel Macron opposing to move to, to de-platform the President because they see it as arbitrary and having nothing to do with rule of law. This is

a serious challenge in the history of this great nation, Richard.

QUEST: Ian, we will talk more. We need to have you on the program more in 2021. So, we've got your phone number. We'll be there. Thank you so much.

As we continue, the fight against climate change, Prince Charles tells me he never knew if this moment would come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE CHARLES: I thought I might have been dead before. People began to realize, it wasn't quite as dirty as it was originally thought.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: More for my exclusive interview with the Prince of Wales, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:07]

QUEST: England's chief medical officers warning that the UK is entering the worst point of the pandemic. Daily cases are spiking and hospitals are

getting pushed to the brink. Speaking to me earlier, the Prince of Wales warned of more pandemics, like the COVID crisis, if we don't start treating

the environment with greater care.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE CHARLES: The planetary health and nature's health is intimately, intimately linked to our own health. And the more we destroy, the natural

world around us and biodiversity on which we depend in its infinite variety, and the more we encourage mass extinctions of species that we

don't always realize we depend on, because each of us are interconnected with the rest of nature.

QUEST: Right.

PRINCE CHARLES: Then, we are making ourselves ever more vulnerable to all sorts of diseases and problems. So, this pandemic won't be the last one, if

we're not very careful. So that's why it's critical to heal the natural world as well as ourselves, and this is why we can't ignore it.

And if I may say so, this pandemic has actually meant ironic that we've been able to do so much of the work behind the scenes this last year

online, because normally you could never meet. Everybody was too busy, they couldn't fly, you know what I mean. So now, at least we got something.

QUEST: Two more questions. Firstly, on COVID, you had COVID and made a good recovery as indeed did myself. Her Majesty got vaccinated over the weekend.

You're too young for the vaccination, sir, I believe, to under the current people who are being vaccinated. But when your time comes, will you be

ready, willing and there to get it?

PRINCE CHARLES: Absolutely, yes, and it seems critical. And if I miss this, I am compelled from having the greatest sympathy for anybody who does end

up with this frightful virus, and also nothing but the deepest possible sympathy for those who've lost loved ones in this horror that we're facing.

I do think vaccination is critical. I mean, I've been communicating over the last year with somebody called Pascal Soriot, who's the chief executive

of Astra Zeneca, and he's part of my sustainable markets initiative. So, I've been talking to him over the year about the development of this

vaccine they've been producing with Oxford University.

And it is remarkable what AstraZeneca is doing and making it available to so many people around the world at cost, they're not making a profit of any

kind. So, you know, there's some remarkable things being done by the business world to assist, both in terms of decarbonization and trying to

find a way to make the transition as responsible as possible, and to benefit and support people at the same time.

So, you know, the -- yes, I think vaccination is critical in order to ensure that we have a way out of this. Otherwise, it's going be very

difficult.

QUEST: You alluded at the beginning to your long interest in this, and I think it's -- this is sort of is your 50th year. And before Christmas, you

said that people thought you were completely dotty when you started on about the environment in the 1970s. Venture to suggest, you're now

mainstream on the issues. I know you would never say I told you so, sir, but there must be an element of at least quiet contemplation that

everybody's joined up with you.

[15:50:06]

PRINCE CHARLES: Well, if I may say, I suppose, it's quite amusing to hear your own words and phrases coming back at you like natural capital, which I

remember talking about some years ago when going up the Amazon in a boat. I was being interviewed at the same time. We were getting up and I suddenly

decide, this phrase came to me about how we have to think about nature's own capital because we've been living off capital, not income, which is

fatal when you think about it.

Anyway, no, it's slightly ironic. But I thought I might have been dead before people began to realize because I wasn't quite as dark as was

originally thought. But if you're trying to encourage things, the people can't quite see the point over the time, I never tend to get thought of as

pretty eccentric, perhaps. But now, that's not quite so much. As I say, getting the language coming back again is quite amusing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Prince Charles, and you can read more about his plans and his climate proposals as well other ways to be more sustainable at

cnn.com/climate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE CHARLES: One of the greatest problems we face is with waste of all kind. And if we were a little bit more careful about how we use things,

what we do throwing things away, and they're out of sight out of mind, it could make a big difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Prince Charles there telling us that food waste is one small thing we can all tackle, and if we want to make a difference on sustainability.

In tonight's episode of "Think Big," we meet a man in Dubai who's making that his mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, REPORTER: The food that landscape architect Phil Dunn cooks is more than just a meal. It's a personal challenge that's giving a glimpse

of how people could consume food in cities around the world.

PHIL DUNN, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: I chose this challenge to eat only food that's grown in the sustainable city for 365 days.

STEWART: To achieve his goal, Dunn is relying on his local community. Based in a Dubai neighborhood called the Sustainable City, he's growing his own

vegetables in urban gardens, fostering rather than buying vital non-local goods like sugar and olive oil with other residents, and catching fish at

the community's tank.

DUNN: I had cherry tomatoes, chives, leafy lettuces as many greens that I can eat really. So that's what my diet consists of.

[15:55:02]

STEWART: He's creating a small-scale example of circular economy for food where everything is produced, consumed and recycled locally. This project

could pave the way for more sustainable initiatives around the world.

KARIM EL JISR, CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER, DIAMOND DEVELOPERS: So the next big idea is really to live, work and thrive locally. So we have

rooftops, we have basements, we have recreation areas, we have public gardens, and then we can repurpose shipping containers to produce berries

and strawberries and tomatoes.

STEWART: With an increasing awareness of sustainability, circular economies are growing in popularity in cities, projected to yield up to $4.5 trillion

in economic growth globally by 2030 according to Accenture. Following Dunn's concept, Dubai's Sustainable City is pursuing technologies that help

forge a circular path.

EL JISR: We've seen a quantum leap in indoor vertical farming, vertical because I want to now use the space vertically as opposed to horizontally.

That's why it is so fitting to do it in a city.

STEWART: Some believes living locally is achievable in hopes that more people will follow suit.

DUNN: I hope that this project is a catalyst for other individuals to start to take control of where their food is grown.

STEWART: A personal challenge that could also benefit food sustainability and security. Dunn is opening new horizons for the circular economy in

cities. Anna Stewart, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: We'll have a "Profitable Moment" after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment," the Prince of Wales speaking tonight on this program, and in his speech concerning the Terra Carta makes it

clear that this is an existential threat. But it's not new to the Prince of Wales. Prince Charles has been talking about this for more than 50 years.

When he began talking about climate change and the environment, everybody thought he was mad. Talking to plants, eccentric, dotty is the ways he

calls it. But now, of course, the mainstream has caught up and the Prince realizes what perhaps we've always all known, and that really you need

business on board to make this happen.

Policymakers, government, NGOs can set the agenda. They can form the areas that need to be dealt with. But ultimately, it is business, finance,

capital that will raise the money that will make it happen. And that's why this public partnership, public private partnership is so important, and

why the Prince agreed to come on tonight's program, a business program to talk about the environment. We were delighted to have him on it, indeed,

it's one of those subjects. We will continue to watch closely.

And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the outside, I hope it's profitable. The

bell is ringing, the day is done. The Dow is down.

END