As the UN climate summit gets underway in Bonn, Germany, African negotiators, activists and youth are particularly vocal about the need for urgent action to mitigate the most devastating effects of global warming. Africa is expected to suffer more from climate change than any other continent. This summer, flooding and mudslides in Sierra Leone killed more than 1,000 people, while extreme drought has left millions of people at risk of famine in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. We speak with Kumi Naidoo, longtime South African anti-apartheid activist and former head of Greenpeace International. He is the chair of a new organization called Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity.
TRANSCRIPT
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. We’re broadcasting live from the UN climate summit here in Bonn, Germany. We just played for you the protest that took place, the revolt that took place yesterday at the US’s only session that they held here, this first COP after President Trump announced plans to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord. But it’s a four-year process. And if that goes through, it ends the day after the next Election Day. The official debut of the US administration was at a forum pushing coal, gas and nuclear power, the presentation including speakers from Peabody Energy, NuScale nuclear and a gas exporter.
We are continuing our conversation now with Kumi Naidoo, South African activist, former head of Greenpeace, now chairperson of Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity.
Now, we have pleaded with David Banks, the US president’s representative, President Trump’s representative here, who said he was completely accessible, stayed right next to our booth throughout the time all of our producers went out to talk to him, but said he would not come on the broadcast, at least today. We’ll attempt to try. But, Kumi Naidoo, as you went off the set for a few minutes, you got a chance to speak with David Banks.
KUMI NAIDOO: Yes. I spent about 15 minutes with him. He seems to be a decent human being. He basically is not denying any of the things that we are saying, but his argument is, “Oh, technology and innovation will sort everything out.” And I —
AMY GOODMAN: But not solar and wind.
KUMI NAIDOO: Yeah, yeah. No, it’s really focused on a hold — and I put it to him that “Do you realize that you are actually giving up economic opportunities, because of successful economies?” Body language suggests that they are aware of that. And the fact, the isolation — and they say they — President Trump has not ruled out the possibility of coming back. But right now, let me tell you — and, Amy, you and I have been at COPs for so long. Right now, almost now, people want to say, “Actually, if the USis going to behave like this, better they stay out. Let the rest of the world go ahead. And we’ll work with the governors of those states that want to be involved, the majority of municipalities in the United States that want to be involved, the civil society.” And —
AMY GOODMAN: This is the We are Still In coalition.
KUMI NAIDOO: Yeah, yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: Yesterday, Governors Inslee and Governor Kate Brown of Oregon, and Washington state, almost took over the USgovernment’s press event —
KUMI NAIDOO: Yes, yes.
AMY GOODMAN: — by just coming in and stating, basically, “This is a sham.”
KUMI NAIDOO: And I want to say something to the UNFCC. The people that did that peaceful protest, they’ve been debadged and thrown out. Right?
AMY GOODMAN: They have been, yesterday?
KUMI NAIDOO: That’s what I understand. I stand to be corrected, if that — anyway, I did a protest; that’s what happened to me, as well, some years ago. But what they did with that panel, this only first panel, is an impeachable offense, really. I mean, it may — they come and present something —
AMY GOODMAN: You mean the US government.
KUMI NAIDOO: The US government.
AMY GOODMAN: The Trump administration.
KUMI NAIDOO: To do a panel that actually goes against 99.99 percent of those scientific consensus in the world — right? — and to give them a platform to do that, I say to the UNFCCC that, in fact, it is inappropriate, and the UN cannot continue to pander to the madness that comes out of the Trump administration. We have to say to them, “If you want to be out, you stay out. Don’t come and poison this negotiations the way that you’re doing.” Those that are aligned to the vision of the Paris accord, limit — you know, imperfect as it is, let us move ahead. Because what they do here is they come, they suck up a lot of oxygen, they hold back negotiations. And let’s be blunt about it. It’s not as if the Obama administration was perfect here. They also held us back. It’s just that, you know — or, certainly, the Trump administration —
AMY GOODMAN: We have 10 seconds for your final message.
KUMI NAIDOO: — also did it. So, time is running out. We need American people. And we are happy that at least the American people are with us, if not the American president.
AMY GOODMAN: We thank you so much, Kumi Naidoo, South African activist, former head of Greenpeace, now chairperson of Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity.
And that does it for our broadcast here in Bonn, Germany.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy