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Special Counsel Drops Cases Against Donald Trump; President-elect's Cabinet Complete After Flurry of Picks; Israeli Cabinet to Vote on Lebanon Ceasefire Deal Tuesday; Macy's Delays Earnings After Worker Hid $154M In Expenses; COP29 Ends With Pledge To Give $300 Billion Annually; Economists: Pledge Falls Short Of $1.3 Trillion Needed. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired November 25, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:08]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A Monday fun day with the Dow hitting a record high as investors celebrate the President-elect's safe
pair of hands pick for Treasury Secretary.
Those are the markets and these are the main events: Special Counsel Jack Smith dropping the charges against Donald Trump for his alleged role in
trying to overturn the 2020 election.
Negotiators say they could be just hours away from a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah.
And Macy's delaying its earnings release after a discovering an employee hid more than $150 million worth of expenses.
Live from New York. It is Monday, November 25th. I'm Julia Chatterley in for Richard Quest, and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Tonight, Special Counsel Jack Smith dropping the federal election subversion and classified documents cases against Donald Trump. Smith wrote
in his filing that the Constitution requires the cases be dropped before Trump assumes office. He added that the outcome is not based on the merits
or strength of the cases. A Trump spokesperson calling it, "a major victory for the rule of law."
Zach Cohen is with us now.
The case against the president-elect is now over, but it does seem like they're going to continue to pursue his co-defendants. There's a clear
message in that, perhaps.
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, that's right, Julia.
Look, this does mark the end of a two-year criminal pursuit by Jack Smith of Donald Trump and effectively ends both his criminal cases against him at
the federal level. The case that centers around the allegations that Donald Trump tried to illegally overturn the results of his 2020 election loss, as
well as the criminal case related to his mishandling of classified documents.
Now, the first one related to the 2020 election that was dismissed or Jack Smith is seeking a dismissal in that case saying basically he had no
choice. Now, under the Constitution and under long-standing Justice Department policy that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted and that
that protection does apply to Donald Trump now that he has won the 2024 presidential election and will be inaugurated on January 20th.
Now, in the classified documents case, the other case that you referenced, that is a little bit more complicated. Jack Smith, again, seeking a
dismissal in that case as well, but adding the caveat that he thinks that the case should proceed against Donald Trump's two fellow co-defendants,
those two Mar-a-Lago employees who were charged alongside Donald Trump for allegedly trying to obstruct a federal investigation. That case is
currently under appeal.
You'll remember Aileen Cannon, the judge who oversees the classified documents case in Florida, she threw the whole thing out a couple of months
ago, saying that Jack Smith was illegally appointed as a special counsel. Jack Smith's team has appealed that ruling, and will continue to fight,
making clear in this motion that they will continue to fight even if the case against Donald Trump is dropped.
So the end of the line for Jack Smith as it relates to his prosecution against Donald Trump, but still, this continuation of the classified
documents case potentially in Florida.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, interesting times.
Zach Cohen, thank you for that report.
US markets closed higher in the first day of trade since Donald Trump chose his Treasury Secretary. Investors perhaps breathing a sigh of relief after
Scott Bessent was tapped for the role. Many business leaders see the billionaire hedge fund manager as a steady pair of hands. US bond yields
fell on the news as investors bet on the Senate to curb Trump's more radical proposals. He was one of a flurry of picks announced Friday
evening.
Trump also chose outgoing Congresswoman Lori Chavez-Deremer for Labor Secretary. She is considered one of the most worker friendly Republicans in
Washington.
Stephen Collinson is with us now.
Stephen, this is fascinating for me because he is perceived, Bessent, as a fiscal conservative. He has talked about cutting the sheer scale of the
deficit. It is a wartime deficit at the moment, but also far more calibrated, perhaps than the president-elect himself on the prospect of
tariffs and recognizing the potential inflationary impact, too.
Investors are celebrating. The question is, will he be able to meet the president-elect in the middle with policy proposals?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Julia. It is actually very interesting, this pick. Bessent was seen as a favorite of the markets
and we know how important the markets are to Trump. He tends to judge his own performance by the performance of the stock market.
Bessent, I think will start off with Trump's priorities extending the tax cut, cutting taxes on payroll, taxes on Social Security benefits, on tips
as the president-elect promised the campaign trail, but that tariff issue is going to be very interesting.
If you look at some of his statements over the last few months, Bessent has appeared to imply that he sees tariffs as necessary, but more as a leverage
to get better US access to foreign markets, for example, in Europe, than just a blunt foreign policy tool; for example, to bring down China, which
many Republicans and some people in the administration see as an existential economic and political threat to the United States.
[08:05:17]
So it is going to be very interesting, especially on China, but on the other issues as well, to see how he graduates that, can he moderate the
president's instincts and still keep the confidence of Wall Street and the markets?
It is going to be a bit of a balancing act, I think.
CHATTERLEY: Well, it is something that Steve Mnuchin achieved as well because he was far more strategic and calibrated.
COLLINSON: Yes.
CHATTERLEY: So it is quite fascinating to see the comparison, I think of the two of them because at least on that note from what I can see already,
there is a similar vein.
Let's talk about the pro-labor Labor Secretary pick as well. I mean, the unions are welcoming this choice, which I find fascinating. Also in the
president-elect's ear, of course, is Elon Musk who has made no secret of his disdain for the prospect of unionization.
So, again, this is going to be an interesting one.
COLLINSON: Yes, and the question is whether the appointment of Chavez- Deremer does that portend a more pro-labor Trump administration, or is it window dressing? I mean, a lot of these tax cuts, presumably would be like
the first round of tax cuts that they are more beneficial to corporations and wealthy Americans and less to labor.
It does reflect the fact that Trump culturally, especially has reached out to union members. They are an important part of his winning coalition in
places like Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin.
So Trump does have that sensibility. He has changed the Republican Party from being more a party of the country club and Wall Street to a party of
working Americans. He has tried to affect that change inside American politics. So I don't think it is necessarily hugely surprising, but it will
be worth watching.
And with this pick and with the Bessent pick, a lot of Trump's other Cabinet picks were for disruption. When it came to the economy, he chose
not to go for massive disruption at least to start with, at least in terms of the records of the people he picked, I think that tells us a lot about
Trump.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, as you quite rightly said, he often talked about the performance of the stock market. He likes talking about the jobs market,
you can't imagine him wanting to derail either of those things in his final term as president.
Can we talk about the poll that we got from Pew Research Center over the weekend that said 53 percent of Americans somewhat or strongly approve of
the president-elect's agenda, 46 percent disapprove, but he does this far, at least, have the majority, despite some of those more controversial or
disruptive picks.
And of course, it went down, the Republican versus the Democrat line, as you would expect. But certainly still has the confidence of people in the
majority on the economy. And to our point, I think he continues to pick people that support that.
COLLINSON: Yes, and I think that reflects as well a president-elect who has been moving very swiftly to put his Cabinet in place. He is giving an
impression of energy. At this point, he appears to be listening to the complaints of many Americans that the political and economic system that is
in place is not helping them. The Democrats found themselves in this election in the position of defending that system as they were talking
about democracy and other issues.
But we will see. You know, he hasn't taken office yet. If he starts doing very controversial things, as he almost certainly will, it wouldn't be at
all surprising to see those numbers going down. There are already Republicans talking about him needing to get a fast start so they can keep
the House in 2026. Most first term presidents end up losing the House because they get a backlash over perceived overreach.
And I think that is something that is actually quite a big danger for the new White House.
CHATTERLEY: We should calibrate that slightly, though. What he says versus the actions that he carries out and takes, because there is a rather large
disconnect we found in the past over those things. Yes.
Stephen Collinson, great to have you, sir. Thank you.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
CHATTERLEY: All right, coming up for us: Momentum growing for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The Israeli Cabinet is set to vote Tuesday on
a proposal to end the fighting. A report from Jerusalem next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:11:47]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back.
There is new hope that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah may be nearing. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office says the Cabinet will vote
Tuesday on a proposal to stop the fighting. It did not share the details of the plan, but said it is expected to pass. For now, the battle rage is on.
Lebanese officials say dozens were killed by Israeli strikes in Beirut over the weekend. Hezbollah afterwards firing a heavy rocket barrage into
Israel. Nic Robertson is with us now.
Nic, this is as close clearly as we've been to see some kind of ceasefire deal agreed. What happens assuming this does pass in Parliament tomorrow in
Israel? How quickly do we have any sense of when this ceasefire might take hold? And I appreciate, I am being presumptuous.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, we know some of the basics. We know that there is a 60-day ceasefire, and we know that it
is going to involve Hezbollah pulling back from the border 30 miles, 45 km north of the border on their side, basically back to the lines that were
agreed in 2006.
And Israel's position has always been well, the UN, the Lebanese Army, all of those who are supposed to stop Hezbollah getting back to the border back
then didn't do it.
Anyway, this is where we are now. So they go back, Hezbollah go back to where they were supposed to go back to in 2006 and the Israeli forces then
retreat back across the border into Israel. And after a period of time, all of those 60,000 people in the north of Israel who were evacuated from their
homes, October 8th last year, will presumably be allowed to go back.
I don't think the people returning to homes will go that fast and I already know from having spoken to some of them that they don't feel that this is a
good deal at the moment, that it really is a replication of what they had in 2006, and they will be facing the same problem again in a few years'
time.
But the nuance of the deal, right, which is what you're asking about. How quickly does Hezbollah pull back, you know, and how does that relate to how
quickly the IDF pulls back? Those details are really not clear. But one of the things that I think is supposed to be different this time, and this is
where the French come in and President Macron has been working closely with President Biden on this, is this force -- military force, a beefed up UN
force that goes into the military vacuum in the south of Lebanon, along with a Lebanese Army, who are not particularly strong military force
compared to Hezbollah. That is where we are at.
The Lebanese are feeling positive as well. They are saying an official close to the process says they think the deal will be signed in 24 hours.
The State Department a bit further away in Washington, still has, you know, it is saying it is not quite there yet, but the mood music is coming
together for it.
CHATTERLEY: So this suggestion then of, in a way sort of sort of independent adjudicators or peacekeeping forces that will then be watching
what is taking place, will they be then the arbiters, if either side is deemed to have in some way broken this ceasefire?
ROBERTSON: Yes, the detail of that isn't clear.
One of the things on Israel's agenda is that it wants to be able to strike back at Hezbollah if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire, but is that -- does
Israel just unilaterally do that or does it have to go through a process of calling up an international adjudicator?
[16:15:09]
Who is it? Is it the United States, or is it some complex UN body?
Israel inherently doesn't trust or like the UN. The UN forces have been there on the ground, have been hit by both Israeli fire and Hezbollah fire
over the past few weeks.
They don't have this strong enough mandate. They're not in there to fight a war. They are there to sort of monitor and make sure that neither side is
breaking the terms of the agreement, which Hezbollah absolutely has done, and that people would argue that Israel has done too, but Hezbollah has,
and the UN hasn't had the strength to do it.
I think you know, Netanyahu is going to face some pushback in his Cabinet tomorrow. One of the hard line right wing members, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the
National Security Minister, he already said he thinks Hezbollah is weak, that the IDF should continue with the fight, "continue, continue, continue"
is his quote.
And it is going to be up to the prime minister when he meets with his coalition parties in the morning tomorrow is going to be to persuade them
why now is the time, but the mechanics of how you get a force in a short period of time to enforce something they haven't been able to enforce over
the past almost 20 years, this is why the people I am talking to who live in the north, right close to the border at the moment this is why they're
deeply skeptical about how this is going to work.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. You can understand their reticence, certainly after the past two decades in particular.
Nic, good to have your insights. Thank you, Nic Robertson, a vitally important 24 hours to come.
Okay, investigators are looking into the cause of a deadly cargo plane crash in Lithuania. The plane went down near the airport in Vilnius. It
took off from Germany and was carrying packages for DHL.
German officials are helping with the investigation. Here is Salma Abdelaziz on what we know so far.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A cargo plane crashed near an airport in Lithuania. There is very dramatic surveillance footage that I want to
show you. It is the moment of impact.
You can see a plane descending there and then suddenly, the shot cuts, it goes to black and when that image reemerges, there is just a huge fireball,
a massive amount of flames that are engulfing that plane. Very remarkably, people did survive this crash.
Authorities say just around 5:30 AM local time in Lithuania, this plane crashed near a runway. It then skidded for a few hundred meters stopping
just short of a residential home. Rescue workers rushed to the scene. They were able to pull three people out of that plane, rescued three people,
including the pilot.
Twelve people were rescued from the home, but unfortunately one person did die. It was a crew member on board that cargo plane.
The country's police chief says they cannot rule out terrorism at this time, but most likely this crash occurred due to human error or due to a
mechanical failure. Investigators are still collecting evidence at the scene, and they say that the investigation could take some time.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Our thanks to Salma there.
Now a far right politician could become Romania's next president, thanks in part at least, to his strong presence on TikTok.
Calin Georgescu led all candidates during the first round of voting on Sunday. His campaign focused on the country's soaring cost of living. He
has also criticized NATO and says Romania's best chance lies with, "Russian wisdom."
Some of his splashy TikTok videos have been watched millions of times ahead of the election.
Anna Stewart is on the story for us.
Anna, this is a fascinating one because I've watched a lot of these TikTok videos and we've seen protest votes and votes for change all over the
world, including in the United States. But this man's social media is pretty unique, and you can describe it for us. I just wonder if it is the
message, the messenger, or the mode of messaging that's most potent here?
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: I mean, all of the above, I think. And I think what is really interesting is this is a candidate who isn't a leader of a
party. He isn't affiliated to a party.
He ran as an independent. He was actually expelled from the far right party, which came fourth in the first round of the presidential election
for extreme views, for praising the leaders of a fascist movement during World War II. He is pro-Russian, he is anti-NATO and he has done
extraordinarily well on TikTok.
Given that local polls predicted he would get less than 10 percent of the vote, he got the biggest share. And this is why, take a look at this
campaign video and I will let you enjoy it. Soak it in.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
[16:20:00]
STEWART: Horse-riding, judo-loving, running, swimming -- not just swimming, swimming butterfly -- a very difficult stroke. It certainly, reminds you
perhaps of some of the videos we've seen in the past of President Putin of Russia, of course, a strong man really looking at traditional values.
You'll see him riding a horse in a very traditional Romanian outfit and that is what he is winning on. He is the strong man here, and he is doing
extraordinarily well.
And I am imagining, Julia, you enjoyed this video as much as I did.
CHATTERLEY: It was very Putinesque, although he actually has a saddle. I mean, from memory, Putin was bareback riding, I am certain --
STEWART: Well, maybe round two.
CHATTERLEY: I know, but is he to wrestle a tiger or a shark? I mean, we are sort of joking around with this because it is quite fascinating to see the
potent use of social media here, and I don't see any economic policies being discussed there to go back to the point about the cost of living
crisis, is there any suggestion that there has been Russian influence? Russian interference in some of this social media in the run up to this
election?
STEWART: What is so interesting is so recently we were talking about the Moldovan election and how there had been a huge Russian influence,
particularly when it came to social media.
Currently, at this stage, there is no suggestion that there was any Russian involvement here. I am sure lots of people will be looking at that more
closely, particularly as we head into the second round.
You're right that this campaign, in terms of the videos we've seen doesn't really focus on the economy even though that is what the candidate is
representing for many people. Romania has one of the highest inflation figures in the EU, if not the highest. I think it is expected to be 5.5
percent this year. It has got the EU's biggest share of people at risk of poverty.
What was also interesting though, it wasn't just people in Romania that were really voting for this guy, Georgescu did very well with the diaspora.
In fact, he almost got double the vote for people living outside of Romania as to people living inside.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, isn't that fascinating? Another strongman that people, at least on the surface, believe can sort of take charge and lead.
Anna Stewart, we are going to watch this closely. Thank you for that fascinating TikTok video. That's all I can say. We will wait for that
tiger.
All right, let's move on. Coming up for us, Macy's has pushed back its earnings report by two weeks and it is all due to one employee who the
company says hid as much as $150 million worth of expenses, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:25:23]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
US stock market is rallying Monday after Donald Trump picked Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department. Many business leaders see the hedge fund
manager as a safe pair of hands.
Bessent has supported both parties in the past, and one of the factors that helped push Trump to victory was the support he also got from Latinos.
Isabel Rosales went to Central Florida to talk with some of those voters who helped turn their county Republican for the first time in decades.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MARRERO-PINTO, PUERTO RICAN TRUMP SUPPORTER: So these are the pork chops, and if you look, this is less than two pounds and it's $5.49 a
pound. The eggs now, I mean the eggs have gone up probably like 50 percent in price, and then milk's just another item that's completely gone up.
We're so tightly squeezed that we're living in an economy where all you're doing is working to live, and that's not the American Dream.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Whether it's sticker shock at the grocery store or watching her youngest son move out of Florida's
Osceola County, his dream of affording a home out of reach, Diana Marrero- Pinto's family has faced a bleak economic picture.
MARRERO-PINTO: People were tired. They were just tired. They were tired of prices going up.
ROSALES (voice over): A registered Independent, she voted Republican at the top of the ticket, but for Democrats in some local and Congressional races.
In 2016, the Puerto Rican voted Donald Trump. But four years later, she went for Joe Biden bothered in part about this 2017 incident when Trump
threw paper towels at struggling Puerto Rican residents during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
But now, Diana came back to Trump.
TONY HINCHCLIFFE, COMEDIAN: There's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now.
ROSALES: What do you say about the Latino vote?
MARRERO-PINTO: You spend so much time trying to push down our throats that people like Trump have disrespected us by throwing paper towels and by
having a comedian that said what he said.
You don't realize how much you disrespect us by insulting our intelligence and thinking that you just have us in your back pocket. We're just not
going to stamp you -- rubber stamp you because you have a D behind your name.
ROSALES (on camera): Latinos are in the majority here in Osceola County, in large part thanks to its thriving Puerto Rican community, one of the
largest in the Sunshine State, and how they vote is important. Joe Biden beat Trump here by 14 points back in 2020.
Four years earlier, Hillary Clinton won it by 25 points. But this November, Trump narrowly won Osceola by less than two points, on his way to carrying
the state by a decisive margin.
Hey, Mark. I'm Isabel.
ROSALES (voice over): The county's longtime GOP chairman not taken by surprise they flipped red.
ROSALES (on camera): What happened here with Trump? How did he do it?
MARK CROSS, OSCEOLA COUNTY GOP CHAIRMAN: It basically is on the issues. You have to ask the question, were you better off four years ago than you are
today? And nobody in their right mind can say yes.
ROSALES: So it's about the economy?
CROSS: Economy is part of it. I mean, the illegal immigration problem is part of it. When you talk about Puerto Ricans and how they vote, what I've
noticed is it's not really a Puerto Rican or a Latino vote. It's an American vote.
ROSALES (voice over): Americans by birthright, some Puerto Rican Trump supporters welcoming mass deportations.
JORGE CERUTO, PUERTO RICAN TRUMP SUPPORTER: I have no problems with anybody coming into US legally, but crossing the border, I don't care from what
country, they should be going back to their country and coming back legally into the country.
(CARMEN CLAUDIO speaking in foreign language.) "Great America."
ROSALES (on camera): She thinks that Donald Trump is the answer to the future. That he's going to make the economy great again, and that he has
already started by getting undocumented people out of here.
(CARMEN CLAUDIO speaking in foreign language.)
ROSALES (voice over): And as Diana plates a searing chuletas for dinner, her faith is unwavering.
ROSALES (on camera): Do you see Trump as a strong Christian man?
MARRERO-PINTO: I see Trump as someone who has foundational Christian values. I wasn't looking for a pastor. I didn't have to worry if he was a
saint.
ROSALES (voice over): No saint, nor pastor, but a man she says, who shares her values.
ROSALES (on camera): Here in Osceola County, there is an exceptionally large amount of nonparty affiliated voters, meaning that both sides have to
bring their A-Game to court these voters.
Now, Mark Cross, that GOP county chairman that you saw in the story, he says that he is passing the torch. He is announcing the successor that he
is endorsing and that person is a Puerto Rican pastor. And as a Latino, he would be the first to lead the local party.
I asked Cross what is the message they're trying to send with that pick? And he told me that Republicans are looking to the future, that this is
someone who is young, someone who represents the community, showing that they are serious about this voting bloc.
In Kissimmee, Florida, Isabel Rosales, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Thanks to Isabel there.
Now just days before the Thanksgiving Parade, Macy shares closing lower by two percent after its postponed its earnings for a pretty stunning reason.
The retailer says that a lone employee hid up to $154 million worth of delivery expenses over roughly three years.
For context, the company spent more than $4 billion on deliveries over that time. Still, the irregularity is an embarrassment for Macy's.
Vanessa Yurkevich is in New York for us. That's about to dust off some of my old accounting and bookkeeping books to try and understand what on earth
happened here. What happened here and where are the auditors and what about the accountants, the Macy's, that this wasn't picked up earlier?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: I think Ben Macy's is trying to figure that out for themselves. They were preparing
their third quarter's earnings report, and they started to see that the numbers simply weren't adding up. So, they did this independent
investigation and found that this single employee fudged the accounting numbers around their small package delivery expenses.
So much so that it totaled over the course of three years, $154 million. So, the company decided, hey, we need to press pause and postpone our
earnings report until we figure out what went wrong. They are still doing their investigation, and they're now postponing their earnings to December
11th. But we do not know how or why this employee hit 10450 -- $154 million. They are no longer with the company.
But Macy's saying for their part that this did not affect their cash management, nor did it affect their vendor payments. And as you mentioned,
in that same three-year time period, all of the expenses for deliveries was 4.3 billion. So not quite 154 million, but still millions of dollars we're
talking about. Now, Macy's CEO Tony Spring this morning saying in a statement, "At Macy's Inc., we promote a culture of ethical conduct while
we work diligently to complete the investigation as soon as practicable and ensure this matter is handled appropriately. Our colleagues across the
company are focused on serving our customers and executing our strategy for a successful holiday season."
But of course, this raises so many questions about where were the auditors, why did it take so long to figure this out? And that, of course, is
rattling investors a little bit, because we did get a little bit of a preliminary third quarters earnings report from them and sales for Macy's
in the third quarter slipped by 2.4 percent. So, that news, along with this unusual news about this single employee hiding $154 million is part of why
that sent the stock slipping about two percent today.
But the investigation, Macy says, is still ongoing as they try to figure out exactly what happened here, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. I mean, I could understand if it was expenses that were inflated and weren't real, because then you could argue that the money was
being siphoned off, but it's in the other direction. I mean, I just wonder where this employee is sort of bought an island somewhere and has retired,
but the money is going in the wrong direction. So yes, roll forward to December the 11th and hopefully we'll find out a bit more about what on
earth happened here.
And again, why it wasn't found earlier. Fascinating story and unfortunate for Macy's because it's already having a pretty torrid time. Vanessa, thank
you for that report. Vanessa Yurkevich.
Now some experts are questioning whether U.N. Climate Summit still serve a purpose after COP29 ended with an agreement that one nation called abysmal.
Delegates met this year in the fossil fuel rich country of Azerbaijan when all was said and done, rich nations offered $300 billion a year for climate
finance by the year 2035. Economists say poorer nations need far more help to cope with climate change.
The COP29 agreement raises the question of whether wealthier nations will take responsibility for the carbon emissions they've generally produced.
Bill Weir joins us now. But it was always going to be a difficult COP29 due to the location. It's a Petro nation. Let's be clear. There was always a
rule in banking, when you got a bonus, you never acted happy, because you always want more.
But if I compare the $300 billion to the what $1.3 trillion that we need, it's what a fraction, a quarter of the money that these nations desperately
need.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: And those payments won't star rolling, Julia, until 2035.
[16:35:02]
So adjusted for inflation, it really doesn't look great. The first promise was made 25 years ago, 2000 when the rich countries would help 100 billion
a year kick in for those who didn't make the problem, help them brace for it. Now this triples that, though it is, I suppose, somewhat of a victory
that it didn't collapse entirely, which it could have.
On Sunday, small island nations and others walked out. Things were so frustrating there. It looked like it might break down for the first time in
30 years, but they held it together, and everyone from Al Gore to other climate investors around the world are saying this is -- this cannot go on.
With this -- the world -- the rich world, has to up their ambition right now. But we live in such populous times as we know politically.
This may be the limit that Western nations can get passed, especially after the Donald Trump win, when it's hard to find a Republican in the United
States who would be willing to send a dollar to India or Colombia to help them brace for climate change right now. But it's such a key moment, Julia,
because there is all of this momentum. A good example is Pakistan, which is having this huge solar boom.
They're third in the world in solar imports right now. In fact, there's so much solar that the actual grids are losing customers at a rate that's
destabilizing it. So, it's a perfect opportunity for Western technology to come in and help that green transition. But maybe the pressure is now,
given the way the world is going, that oil and gas now has a lobby and a foothold in places like that around the world.
But it is without a doubt, we're seeing that Saudi Arabia is really going the other way. You know, last year, they promised to transition away from
fossil fuels. This year, Saudi Arabia is digging in, shooting down any language that would have fortified that as well. And China is digging in,
along with Saudi Arabia, trying to hold on to developing nation status, even though China leads the world in emissions and in renewable energy
installations.
Sixty-seven percent of the world's clean energy is in China, compared to seven percent in the U.S. But they don't want to kick into these loss and
damage funds to help the developing nations at this time. And that just creates so much mistrust between the parties. None of this is binding. It's
all about diplomatic peer pressure. But if trust goes away, then really working on borrowed time.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, it requires, above all, good faith on the execution and the follow through on this. So, there are those that are saying, look, this
is the end of -- or the beginning of the end of sort of multilateral climate action. But to your point about China, I mean, they are spending
more on renewable energies and investments than the rest of the world put together. So, progress is being made, even if the planet still hotter and
the weather's worsening and where do we go with COP next year? Because now it's in Brazil's hands and that it --
(CROSSTALK)
CHATTERLEY: -- to the world.
WEIR: Exactly. Interesting to go to Brazil where the president, Lula da Silva, there is one of the few sort of climate leaders in the current age.
And there's enormous pressure, but there is sort of a defeatist attitude that, after a year, once the Trump administration is back in vowing to just
ramp up and just undo all this progress, where you go next year with this sort of thing. It remains to be seen.
But if you live in places like India or Bali or any of the low-lying nations around the world, it's hard to see these things sort of break down.
There was momentum going in that direction, but it's a very different place financially. Five years ago, when oil majors were vowing to help, the
return on investment was less than zero. These days, it's turned around. And the other thing about the Ukraine peace with Donald Trump in there,
Europe may be spending a lot more money to defend Ukraine, money that could have gone to help fight against climate change.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. We're going to keep talking about it and holding these nations to account, Bill, because we have no choice. And I think we know
that, and young people know that too. Yes. Let's hope this is a phase but we don't have time to waste. Bill Weir, thank you.
WEIR: You bet.
CHATTERLEY: Now, Wicked and Gladiator to a breathing new life into this season's box office glicked, as some are calling it. Gross, nearly $170
million combined in the U.S. this weekend. It was also the biggest opening weekend for a musical adaption of a Broadway show. And fans had to be
warned not to sing along to Wicked's iconic music.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Brian Stelter is with me now. Brian, that basically means I can't go to the cinema to watch this. I have to stream it because I'm
definitely going to be singing along. This sort of contrast between -- I don't want to be sexy and say, sort of a girl movie and a boy movie in the
Gladiator movie because I obviously want to see both, But that's who's really the majority behind the tickets. Sort of worked for Barbie and
Oppenheimer and it's sort of working this time around again.
[16:40:01]
BRIAN STELTER, FORMER CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it has. And I'm happy to be the comic relief here. This was a battle of the sexes. Wicked
did perform --
(CROSSTALK)
STELTER: That's not resistant. It is true. It was also notable that over the weekend, Gladiator 2 performed better in international markets. Wicked
was the clear winner in the domestic market in the United States. But both these movies are going to have a long life in the weeks to come, and it is
a real sigh of relief that we're hearing from Box Office owners today because they needed this heading into Thanksgiving.
But I have good news, if you like to sing at the movies, Moana 2 opens later this week. This is Disney's big Thanksgiving release, and that's
going to join both Wicked and Gladiator 2, they get a credit even more sales at the box office the next few days. And star of Moana 2, Dwayne
Johnson, he told fans yesterday, feel free to sing as loud as you want at Moana 2. So, at least that gives us some hope.
CHATTERLEY: And I've just been told it's not glicked obviously, it's glicked. Glicked Gladiator, Wicked, glicked.
STELTER: I guess it is. Yes. It's whatever you want it to be.
CHATTERLEY: Sing loud. Mispronounce. Do what you like, Julia. But I will say based on the point that you made about this strong sales domestically.
Wasn't this one of the biggest Hollywood marketing campaigns that has ever been launched to promote this movie?
STELTER: Yes. In the marketers at Universal owned by Comcast said we're trying to be just short of obnoxious by making sure this movie showed up
everywhere. I would say mission accomplished on the part of those marketers. And that's the new playbook. It's kind of a playbook that we saw
from Barbie and Oppenheimer last year. It's the new normal. You could actually argue it comes from the political sphere, right?
Who's more ubiquitous than Donald Trump? Well, there's sort of a similarity happening in media where you have to be wicked as you have to be everywhere
when you're launching one of these big products. It also helped, of course, Wicked is a known franchise, right? It's the biggest movie ever to come out
of Broadway at this point, based on opening weekend. Gladiator 2 is a sequel. Moana 2 is a sequel.
And Wicked, Gladiator they both have the next iterations already in the works. Wicked Part Two is already booked to come out this week next year.
So, Universal had even more reason to put its muscle behind it, because of that. As for Moana 2, two it was going to start as a Disney T.V. streaming
show because that's the most popular streaming movie Disney's ever had. But Bob Iger moved it to theaters.
And I think we're going to see more of that in the years to come as companies try to rejuvenate the good old faction box office. Because if you
can have a big launch in the box office, it's going to do even better on streaming platforms months later. It's not about that or this or that, yes
or no, it's about an all of the above strategy for these studios.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. This is so important. All the big wow in the cinemas, and then you watch it in stream, if you didn't get to see it there, makes
perfect sense. I'm being told to be quiet. Brian, I could keep this going for an hour. Brian Stelter, thank you, sir.
STELTER: Right.
CHATTERLEY: That was great. And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Julia Chatterley. Up next, Quests World of Wonder.
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