With an impassioned plea for climate action on Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry is the highest-ranking U.S. official to attend the annual U.N. Climate Change Conference since President Obama took part in the 2009 Copenhagen talks. While Kerry spoke for 30 minutes, he never addressed an issue on the minds of many: the proposed Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. Kerry must make a final recommendation to Obama about whether the $8 billion pipeline should be approved. Amy Goodman speaks to former Vice President Al Gore, who attended Kerry’s speech, about why he wants Obama to reject the Keystone XL. She then tries to raise the issue with Kerry and top U.S. climate negotiator Todd Stern, but both refuse to answer.
TRANSCRIPT:
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Just before Kerry spoke, I had a chance to briefly interview former Vice President Al Gore, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on climate change.
AMY GOODMAN: Vice President? Hi, I’m Amy Goodman from Democracy Now!
AL GORE: Hi.
AMY GOODMAN: Your thoughts on the Keystone XL?
AL GORE: I’m not—well, I’ve been opposed to it for a long time, and I think it’s a terrible idea. When, you know, junkies use veins in their toes when the ones in the arms and legs collapse, that’s my view of it. But—
AMY GOODMAN: Have you major recommendations clear to President Obama?
AL GORE: Oh, of course, yeah. Of course. But I’m not—
AMY GOODMAN: And do you know which way he’ll go on it?
AL GORE: What’s that?
AMY GOODMAN: Do you know which way he’ll go on it?
AL GORE: No, I don’t. But if I—
AMY GOODMAN: What do you think—go ahead.
AL GORE: I kind of think that he will not approve it. I’ve thought that for a while.
AMY GOODMAN: And if he does, what will it mean for the climate?
AL GORE: Well, let’s hope he doesn’t.
AMY GOODMAN: What would it mean for the climate if it were approved?
AL GORE: Well, it would mean a large new supply of very high-carbon energy, of course, so it’s a bad idea.
AMY GOODMAN: Can I ask you a quick question on another issue? On this—
AL GORE: I’m not doing interviews. The secretary’s coming in. And—
AMY GOODMAN: OK.
AL GORE: OK, thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: OK, thanks.
AMY GOODMAN: After Secretary of State Kerry’s talk, where he spoke so powerfully about the importance of taking climate change seriously, I put the same question to him as I did to Al Gore. Kerry looked over, but he didn’t respond.
HANDLER: Sorry, this isn’t a press conference. I’m sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED: I just want to get a little—
HANDLER: That’s perfectly fine, totally understand, but I’m sorry. We’re not going to [inaudible] questions.
AMY GOODMAN: Secretary Kerry, Keystone XL?
HANDLER: Thank you very much.
AMY GOODMAN: Your view on it?
HANDLER: Thank you very much.
AMY GOODMAN: So I caught up with the man who introduced John Kerry, U.S. chief climate negotiator Todd Stern.
AMY GOODMAN: Mr. Stern, Keystone XL?
TODD STERN: Hi.
AMY GOODMAN: Your thoughts on it?
TODD STERN: No thoughts right now. Thanks very much.
HANDLER: Sorry. I’m sorry. Excuse me. Sorry.
AMY GOODMAN: Democracy Now! has been to the last six climate change talks. Stern avoids answering my questions except in press conferences when someone else calls on me and he’s forced to respond. I still put the same question to him as I did to Kerry and Vice President Gore.
AMY GOODMAN: Mr. Stern, every year we try to get a question, and we’re the most faithful news organization in the United states.
TODD STERN: No, I don’t—I don’t have—I don’t have any—
AMY GOODMAN: Thoughts on Keystone?
TODD STERN: No, I’m not—I’m not doing [inaudible].
AMY GOODMAN: Can you say what you thought of the secretary’s speech?
TODD STERN: I thought it was great. Excellent speech.
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