This is more from the transcript of the interview with Kumi Naidoo on Democracy Now!
South
African activist Kumi Naidoo joins us at COP23 to discuss the U.S. presence at
this year’s U.N. climate summit. “The U.N. cannot continue to pander to the
madness that comes out of the Trump administration,” Naidoo says, after the
U.S. hosted a panel at the conference with a forum pushing coal, gas and
nuclear power.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!,
democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. We’re broadcasting live
from the U.N. climate summit here in Bonn, Germany. We just played for you the
protest that took place, the revolt that took place yesterday at the U.S.'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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. is 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 U.S. government’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 U.S. government.
KUMI NAIDOO: The U.S.
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 U.N. 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.
Please
go here for the full video program: https://www.democracynow.org/2017/11/14/kumi_naidoo_united_nations_shouldn_t
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