11/14/17 11/14/17 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from cop23, the u.n. climate summit in bonn, germany, this is democracy now! >> the dust ♪ amy: revolt as the trump administration makes its debut at cop23 by trying to push coal, gas, and nuclear power. democracy now! was there.

i am amy goodman from democracy now! >> this is our last question. amy: just a simple yes or no from each of you whether you support president trump pulling the u.s. out of the paris climate accord? stay tuned for their answers. then kumi naidoo, former head of greenpeace, on his new initiative africans rising. and today is gender day here at the u.n. climate summit. we speak with the first female president of the marshall islands hilda heine. women of the pacific island nation. thank you. in the pacific, it is often women and mothers who are at the hearts of our community's and ensure resilience. if women do not plan for the

long-term, families and communities -- amy: today marshall islands president hilda heine, along with her poet daughter, climate activist kathy jetnil-kijiner. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting from bonn, germany. the death toll from sunday's earthquake on the iran-iraq border has topped 540. more than 8000 people have been injured in the magnitude-7.3 earthquake. most of the deaths occurred in iran where more than 12,000 homes were destroyed, leaving many people homeless as winter approaches. puerto rico's governor has asked the federal government for $94 billion to help repair critical infrastructure and rebuilding -- rebuild housing following hurricane maria. more than half the island remains without power seven

weeks after the hurricane hit. more than 10% of the island is without running water. in news from alabama, a fifth woman has come public to accuse republican senate candidate roy moore of sexual misconduct. beverly young nelson says moore sexually assaulted her in 1977 when she was 16 years old. at the time, he was in his 30's. nelson said the incident occurred after moore offered to drive her home from her waitressing job. >> i was terrified. he was also trying to pull my shirt off. i thought he was going to rape me. i was twisting and i was struggling and i was begging him to stop. i had tears running down my face. up and heint, he gave

then looked at me and he told me -- he said, "you are just a child. . am the district attorney and if you tell anyone about th, no one will ever believe you." yorkeranwhile, "the new magazine" reports roy moore was banned from a local mall and a ymca in alabama because he repeatedly badgered teenage girls, in some cases, soliciting sex from them. moore, a former state judge, has denied the accusations. a growing number of republican party leaders, including senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, are urging moore to drop out ahead of the december 12 special election to fill jeff sessions' former seat. meanwhile, a sixth woman has come forward to accuse former president george h.w. bush of groping her.

roslyn corrigan says she was 16 years old when bush grabbed her buttocks as she stood next to him for a photograph during a public event at a cia office in texas. president trump has nominated alex azar, a former top executive of pharmaceutical giant eli lilly, to lead the department of health and human services. the post has been vacant since the resignation of tom price. public citizen's rob weissman criticized the nomination, saying -- "tom price supported big pharma in the u.s. congress. now apparently trump has decided to cut out the middleman and let a pharmaceutical executive literally run the federal department that protects the health of all americans." donald trump, jr., has admitted he had some direct contact with wikileaks during the 2016 campaign. trump jr. made the admission after the atlantic magazine revealed wikileaks repeatedly sent him private direct messages on twitter during the campaign. occasionally, trump jr.

responded. on october 12, wikileaks urged -- on october 12, 2016, wikileaks urged trump jr. to have his father link to the site containing the hacked emails of hillary clinton's campaign manager john podesta. 15 minutes later, candidate donald trump himself tweeted -- "very little pick-up by the dishonest media of incredible information provided by wikileaks. so dishonest! rigged system!" also, on election day wikileaks urged trump jr. to tell his father not to concede if he lost. this comes as attorney general jeff sessions is heading to capitol hill today to testify before a congressional hearing on russian meddling in the 2016 election. some democratic lawmakers have accused sessions of mmitting perjury for previously telling congress that he was not aware of any trump campaign official talking to russian officials. sessions' remark contradicts the statements of two former trump campaign aides carter page and

george papadopoulos who have admitted they had contacts with russians during the campaign. meanwhile, sessions has asked officials to look into whether a special prosecutor is needed to investigate the clinton foundation and in obama era deal to sell a uranium company to russia. in news from syria, the certain observatory for human rights is reporting at least 53 people have been killed in airstrikes outside of aleppo. the dead include at least five children and three women. meanwhile, the bbc is reporting hundreds of fighters with the islamic state were allowed to leave raqqa as a part of a secret deal with the u.s.-led coalition to end the fighting in raqqa. a bbc investigation found about 250 militants left in october along with 3500 members of their families and their weapons. some of the fighters headed to other parts of syria controlled

by the so-called islamic state, others went to turkey. in wisconsin, a 14-year-old native american teenager was shot dead last week by a deputy in the ashland county sheriff's department. jason pero was a member of the bad river band of lake superior tribe of chippewa indians. the shooting occurred after police received a 911 call about a man walking down the street with a knife. investigators now believe the 14-year-old was the one who had made the 911 call. pero's grandfather criticized the police for using lethal force. alan pero said -- "he got murdered out in front of the house here. he's a boy. there's warning shots. there's tasers. there's pepper spray. you don't go right on a 14-year-old kid and go for the kill zone." football player colin kaepernick has been named citizen of the year by gq for sparking a movement against racism after he refused to stand last year for the national anthem before an nfl game.

the magazine wrote -- "he's been vilified by millions and locked out of the nfl - all because he took a knee to protest police brutality. kaepernick's determined stand puts him in rare company in sports history: muhammad ali, jackie robinson - athletes who risked everything to make a difference." and the professor edward herman has died at the age of 92. he was author of many books, including "manufacturing consent: the political economy of the mass media," which he co-authored with noam chomsky. this is a clip of herman appearing in the film, "the brainwashing of my dad." >> the mainstream media are elite institutions. ownership of the media is concentrated in the hands of very wealthy individuals. the media system is really a powerful set of structures.

most people don't have a choice. they don't have a spectrum of available choices they can look at and say, "oh, i like this or that." so you have a very limited constrained, set of options to begin with. that is the bias that is built in to the structure of the system. amy: at hermann died on saturday at the age of and those are some 92. of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. yes, we are broadcasting live from the u.n. climate summit in bonn, germany, the home of beethoven. this is the first climate summit since president trump has vowed to pull the united states out of the landmark 2015 paris climate agreement, a process that takes four years. while this action would leave the united states entirely isolated as the only nation on

earth that is not a party to the agreement, many of the nations leaders are worried about the trump effect. the idea that the u.s. trustee's planned withdrawal will allow other nations to also weaken their commitment to the paris deal. by the global carbon project shows global carbon dioxide emissions are once again rising after flatlining for three straight years. these findings -- earlier hopes that earlier co2 emissions had peaked for good. at this year's climate conference, african negotiators, activists, and youth are particularly vocal about the need for urgent action to mitigate the most devastating effects of climate change. the consonant is expected to suffer more from climate change than any other on earth. many african countries are already feeling some of the worst effects this summer, flood and mudslide killed more than 1000 people while extreme drought has left millions of

people at risk of famine in kenya, somalia, and ethiopia. to talk more about this is negotiations and environmental movements across africa, we're joined by kumi naidoo, south african activist and the former head of greenpeace. he is now the head of an organization called africans for justice, peace, and dignity. we have had you on as head of greenpeace international. now you're starting a new organization. talk about what is happening in africa and why you see the need for this group. >> firstly, people need to understand that climate impacts are already devastating the african continent. the difference with us compared to say hurricanes that have an or typhoons that happened in southeast asia, the main impacts of climate at the moment is climate intensified drought and -- these are not cataclysmic media

moments like a typhoon or a hurricane is. but people need to understand that the terrible injustice of this is the people who are paying the price, the most brutal price with their lives and the livelihoods and her soil and water and so on, are those lead the most basic lifestyles. us what we're dealing with is a problem that is called climate apartheid. if you look at where the problem has been caused mostly and where the impacts are, it is people of color, whether in the pacific war africa or the middle east and someone, i guarantee you that if it was flipped, we would probably have much more action because the reality is that as africans, we recognize that racism is alive and well at the global level.

and we see it in places like the united states in a very powerful way now. and part of getting a climate solution is about valuing human life in an equal way across the planet. amy: can you talk about the trump effect and if there is one? this is the first climate summit where the president of the united states has said he is pulling the united states out of the accord, leaving the u.s. alone in the world, as the only country not part of the paris climate accord. what effect a you see that having? and think it has a negative a positive effect. the negative effects is that it has left the majority of americans today feeling their president is not acting in their interest, giving up global leadership, and so on. he has gone after the paris climate accord, we must remind ourselves -- and people seem to a forgotten about thatat the negotiations -- paris was not a perfect accord. it simply gave us the chance to

live to fight another day. we need to go beyond the paris amendments and build into the paris accord review mechanisms and to increase ambition and so on. it hascome into great also been positive, it is because donald trump is reviled by the majority of americans, is totally reviled by people across the world. it has gotten people who have never taken an interest saying, well, donald trump is against this accord, there must be something good in it. if you look at the united dates, you can see how governors, local government leaders, and so on are stepping up to say, "we will meet those commitments without mrs. silly the support of the federal government." amy: right behind you, you can turn around, david banks, the u.s. representative for president trump has energy

advisor is standing right there. our producer is asking if he would come over and join this discussion. he is the one who had the only u.s. summit. would you come over, david, to join this discussion? david, if you would come for five minutes to join us -- >> [inaudible] amy: he is saying he is tempted. come on over. ok, we're trying to get him to come over. >> it is great. let's just say those of us who believe that the paris accord must be met and exceeded, we are clearly willing to dialogue and educate president trump and the people around him. it is clear they are in need of a desperate injection of reality. they have created a little bubble for themselves. they are living in this bubble. even syria has signed the accord. amy: and nicaragua before, which had not sign because they thought it was too weak.

and they cited not because i think the paris accord is great, but they believe the global community has to work together to address this problem. donald trump and the people of america need understand that what he is doing, he is actually undermining american economic interests apart from anything else. if you look at meetings i had when i was at -- meeting with the chinese leaders, it comes out very clear they have come to conclusion that the successful countries of the future are not those that dominate the arms race and the space race. successful economies of the future are going to be those that dominate the green race, those that get as far ahead of the green technology based now. that is where you find china, for example. 90% of solar panels installed come from china. preferred panels be installed in china, but that is a different story. but they have turned the crisis of climate change into an economic competitive advantage.

so long as donald trump in the small never people around him that are pushing him in the direction to stick in the position they are not only undermine the possibility of life on the planet, but also the short, medium, long-term economics. amy: he is called it a chinese hoax. and in fact, sadly, climate change is a chinese bonanza because the u.s. isn't supporting alternative energies, i believe the environmental advisor for president trump kathleen hartnett white who just had her confirmation hearings before the senate -- we will see if she is confirmed -- has said that -- agrees with president trump and says carbon dioxide is a plant nutrient and solar power is parasitic. >> wow. in theu see happening trump administration is that a really bad dose of cognitive dissidents where the science is

crystal clear. if you didn't want to do with the complexity of the science come all you do look at, what has happened in the last a gate. in the last decade, with had more than a 100% increase in extreme events. people say, yes, there were always hurricanes. true. but what you find now, without any reasonable doubt, the frequency of such events is increasing. the strength and the impact and the devastation caused is breaking record after record. and we need understand that this is not about saving the planet. people need understand the struggle we are engaged in, sure -- pressures our children our children's futures are protected. donald trump is betraying natalie the future generation, but people around the world. amy: we're going to go to break and they go to what happened yesterday at the only u.s. session. i want to say over your right

shoulder, david banks remains, though he is not walked over a few feet to sit down next to you to have a debate. yesterday the panel, he said he was fully accessible. we will see what happens if we can get him this week. he is donald trump's special assistant to the president, international energy and environment. we're going to play that session and the walkout that took place, the actual revolt, leaving the room 3/4 into when david banks and other -- the white house, ce'svice president penc' representative talked about supporting donald trump and pulling out of the accord. it also their corporate executives. the only panel here of the u.s. government were representatives of nuclear, gas, and coal. that is what you're going to hear next. then we will get kumi naidoo's response. and if we're lucky, david banks

will join us as well. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. we're broadcasting live from the u.n. climate summit in bonn, germany. , andrday, people revolted we're urging you to go to the phone right now. here in bonn, germany, close to 200 countries are gathered. the u.s. says it is pulling out of the climate accord. on monday night, activists and democratic lawmakers staged a full-fledged revolt as the trump administration made its official debut at this year's cop. at a forum pushing coal, gas, nuclear power. the presentation was entitled "the role of cleaner and more efficient fossil fuels and nuclear power in climate mitigation." it included speakers from coal company peabody energy, nuclear engineering firm nuscale power, and a gas exporter. the panel was the only official

appearance by the u.s. delegation during this year's u.n. climate summit. well, democracy now! was there monday night as the u.s. delegation made its official debut. it didn't go too well -- at least, it did not begin well, with a weiss out -- white house consultant telling democracy now! we couldn't film him. >> i don't know what you're doing, but please don't. this is a sideshow. the world is not paying any attention to it. this world is not going to listen to some who says climate change is a hoax. you can report this news from bonn. while donald trump is turned to sell or technology to an unforgiving world an unforgiving science, the third largest economy in the world that is moving forward with clean energy jobs, and that is the united states climate alliance.

i am proud to be leading it. >> thank you. we're delighted to be here. it is clear that president trump is rejecting the economy of the future. washington, and oregon are working together with british columbia, representing 1/5 of the world economy. that is extraordinary resource. we're all pulling together. we are rolling in the same direction. we're going to move this economy ford. and we're doing it by investing and energye energy conservation. >> thank you, everybody. good luck. >> thank you. >> to look. we're here at the cop. it is filled with corporate executives from the new andstry, from peabody coal natural gas. the room is packed because, welcome it is the only event that they have held in this too

we cop so far. >> with that, i would like to introduce president special assistant for international energy and environment. once accuse our countries vast resources to create jobs at home. the president also was to use our energy resources to benefit our allies and partners to provide them greater energy security and prosperity. we see right through your agreed dilling across the worl we stand up until you keep it in the ground. and we are here to stay

proud to be an american where we see right through your greed and killing all across the world for coal mining youroudly stand up until keep it in the ground that the people of the world unite and we are here to stay ♪ ♪ we see right through your greed killing all across the world for the coal mining we probably stand up until you keep it in the ground uniteople of the world ♪ we are here to stay

[cheers] [applause] my name is isabel. i come from richmond, california. i'm 23. i'm part of the indigenous environment network delegation here, but i'm also a member of the idol no more from san francisco bay area and tell a foreign you. today there was a huge walkout rally from the u.s. press conference that was happening in the room right behind us. who they were really promoting, the so-called clean energy of using coal, nuclear plants, and also liquefied natural gas. and so that was their way of saying, yeah, this is good energy, but we from the united states are saying, no, this is a false solution. >> i am with 350.org.

i'm the coordinator of u.s. people's delegation, which includes a lot of the people who were here speaking after the white house panel. i was inside. it was a really good for collective moment of resistance where over close to 100 people who entered the white house panel, we listened to basically a crony for president trump speak about clean coal and clean nuclear and give his reasoning for why this is super important, even though nobody else at the cop is saying it. then we collectively rose up together in unison singing a song of resistance. we turned and face the press. we held a over 10 minutes and then we marched out to link with the front wing community's. we put forward the voices of

those most impacted by the climate crisis. we wanted to hold the space and contractor this -- in contrast to this panel. i am from boston, massachusetts. i am here with the sustain as youth delegation and sunrise movement. i am here because as a young person, i am scared about the threat of climate change right now and in the future and i am angry that people like donald trump and rex tillerson are putting my life and the lives of millions of others at risk. so we just sang inside a fossil fuel panel, presentation, and about 100 of us stood up together and sang our own version of "god bless america" to really reclaim his identity that america should be about liberty and justice for all, that it should be about an

actual american dream, not just a dream for the fossil fuel billionaires in the elite 1% in our country. so we sang this song and we walked out all of us and left them talking to each other in a list nobody in the room itself. we cannot enjoyed hundreds of other people who were not able to get into the panel room itself. >> i am puerto rico. it is day number 56 after hurricane maria devastated our islands. for us, it is important for us to get the message out that we know climate change is real. we know the caribbean waters in the atlantic ocean are warmer. we experimented -- experienced two big hurricanes. we had irma and then maria. for us, it is disrespectful to know this is going to continue ago,ng that just 56 days we got hit hard by hurricane and we are still in a country that is militarized by the u.s.

we have limited access to clean water. we have almost no power, no electricity. so we know this is real. and to know that fossil fuelers are going to be continuing and nuclear energy is guaranteeing next year we will be in the same situation, and the risk is going to continue. >> our final speaker today is the director of business strategy of nuscale power. >> i appreciate the young people who are in your earlier voice american union. i think is important to do that. i only wish they had stayed in the room. we need to listen to each other. we don't do that enough, even if we disagree with each other. last week i spoke at a women's event at google. i talked about the tribalism that we often see in this field againstpit ourselves each other, and that doesn't really get us to the goals that we mutually want to reach. nuclear energy needs to be a part of the conversation here at the climate talks in bonn in a

future climate talks and all of the forms we had throughout the year in which we are talking about large energy transitions. >> the vice president of coal generation and emissions technology at the bottom energy. believe some there's no, ground here and no path forward for fossil fuels in a carbon constrained world, we don't believe that is the case. there are technologies available today and others in the technology-second dramatically reduce emissions from coal and other fossil fuels. for to the point, these technologies are vital to achieving the goals of the paris agreement. amy: i am amy goodman from democracy now! news hour -- >> this is our last question. amy: is simple yes or no from each of you whether you support president trump pulling out of the paris climate accord. if we could begin with lenka. >> i am here to support climate

change mitigation. amy: a simple yes or no answer. question was -- amy: whether you support president trump pulling the united states out of the paris climate accord? >> no, i don't support it. our company statement wasn't yes or no, so allow me to say what it is. we did not ever weigh in. there were reports that we waited in both directions. it is up towas that them. there's a lot to decide, but whether or not the u.s. is in the fierce climate agreement, we will continue to work on low emissions, technologies for coal. amy: and you first don't, holly? >> gosh, i'm not really a policy person. i'm sorry, that was a copout. you are right. i personally --represent myselfk to me afterwards. amy: are you for or against? >> i'm not going to answer my personal thought. at all think expect me to say

anything else. i support the paris agreement. amy: yes or no? >> there are two answers. [laughter] >> yes or no. >> the u.s. energy association did not take a position before the president pulled out of paris. as soon as he pulled out of paris, we issued a statement saying he should renegotiate paris. from my own personal standpoint, the answer is yes because of the reasons i laid out. amy: you support trump pulling -- >> we are achieving the emissions reductions goals without having the regulatory burden. we're doing it for other reasons. amy: francis brooke? >> now where going to go to -- amy: i would like your response. two more people, yes or no? >> answer her. >> we both work for the administration, so that is who we are here to represent and it isn't going to change anything post of amy: david banks? >> we're going to start with --

amy: yes or no? >> david, answer. >> i work for the president of the united states. >> so is a yes or no? amy: that was david banks. the person we have and try to get on the show who has been standing next to our broadcast. before that, francis brooke, policy aid in the office of vice president mike pence. two of the four corporates disagreed with trump lim u.s. out of this climate agreement. holly krutka of peabody would not say and very worthington of u.s. energy association agreed with president trump's withdrawal. that was the final question as the trump administration's one and only panel here at the cop23. ,his is democracy now! democracynow.org, broadcasting live from the u.n. climate

summit in bonn, germany. this is known as the first islands cop. fiji presiding over this year's summit. the event itself is being held in bonn because of the logistical challenges of hosting 25,000 people in fiji at the start of the south pacific cyclone season. today is also the gender day here at the u.n. climate conference. we are joined now by the first woman president of the marshall islands hilda heine, and her daughter, poet and climate change activist kathy jetnil-kijiner. this is kathy reading one of her poems at a united nations climate change meeting in new york city in 2014 only days after the massive people's climate march, the largest climate march in history. kathy's poem is written as a letter to her child. >> dear matafele peinam, don't cry. mommy promises you no one will come and devour you. no greedy whale of a company sharking through political seas

no backwater bullying of businesses with broken morals no blindfolded bureaucracies been a push this mother ocean over the edge no one's drowning, baby no one's moving no one's losing their homeland no one's becoming a climate change refugee or should i say no one else to the carteret islanders of papua new guinea and to the taro islanders of the fiji, i take this moment to apologize to you we are drawing the line here because baby we are going to fight your mommy daddy bubu jimma your country and president too we will all fight kathyhat is jetnil-kijiner back in 2014. well, less than two years later, her own mother, hilda heine, was elected president of the marshall islands, becoming the first female president of an independent pacific nation. and they are all still fighting. climate change and sea level rise poses a particularly

devastating threat to low-lying island nations like the marshall islands. antenna ball can it islands and coral in the middle of the pacific ocean between hawaii and the philippines. according to a report by the u.s. geological survey "many , atoll islands will be flooded annually, salinizing the limited freshwater resources and thus likely forcing inhabitants to abandon their islands in decades, not centuries, as previously thought." but climate change is not the first existential threat the marshall islands has faced. between 1946 and 1958, the united states conducted more than 60 large-scale nuclear tests there. the largest, known as the bravo shot, was 1000 times more powerful than the hiroshima bomb and vaporized three small islands. the nuclear testing forced people from their homes and caused long lasting health impacts, including women giving birth to jellyfish babies -- tiny infants born with no bones.

in 2014, the marshall islands launched an unprecedented lawsuit against the united states and eight other countries at the international court of justice at the hague, accusing them of failing to meet international commitments for nuclear disarmament. the lawsuit was rejected in 2016 after the court said it did not have jurisdiction over the case. well, for more on climate change and the long legacy of nuclear testing, we're joined now by the president of the marshall islands herself hilda heine, and , her daughter, poet and climate change activist kathy jetnil-kijiner. we welcome you both to democracy now! madam president, your thoughts islands cop, first this first cop summit, the u.n. climate summit sponsored by another south pacific island, fiji, the significance of this? >> it is very significant for , being island countries

our first one. it is important for us to be here to let the world know that everyone has to do their part. we are wanting to be here to make sure that countries increase their ambition so the 1.5 degrees can be maintained. that is the importance for our for us tontrys, survive. it is very important. this cop is very important for us. amy: and this is the first u.n. climate summit since president trump announced that he is pulling the united states out of the paris climate accord. what does that mean to you? >> that his latest on that more important for us to be here, and together support from other countries around the world. we are very disappointed when president trump pulled out the united states from the pairs agreement. -- importis important leaders in the world and should be taking a leadership role in

the climate fight. when he decided to pull the u.s. from the paris agreement, it was very disappointing act for countries like the marshall islands. amy: what message do you ever president trump? today? we just play their first it looks like only event there holding here at the climate summit where they were pushing coal, nuclear, and gas? toi think we're all for coal be kept underground, and we want to make sure that president trump understands the importance of emission and what is going on -- a hisof coal being administration. we want to make sure -- we want acknowledgeump to

there's no longer a debate about the issue of climate change. we need to make sure that we are doing all we can to ensure the viability of all of the a link countries especially, and the rest of the world. especially,untries and the rest of the world. and got a want to ask about what they call jellyfish babies. can you talk about the legacy of nuclear testing in the south pacific, and the marshall islands? talk about, first of all, how many islands make up the marshall islands? i don't think people realize the scope. >> we have 33 islands in the atollsl islands -- them actually, with many other smaller ones. the committees are 33. we have 24 island that are inhabited with actual communities in the marshall islands. the legacy of the nuclear back therogram brings

issue of colonialism and how the u.s. colonized the marshall islands. to this day, we're still struggling with the legacy of what we call jellyfish babies. amy: this is babies without bones. >> babies born by women who lived on the islands that were contaminated. who havehave people never returned to their homelands after 50 years of being displaced from their homeland. we have islands that were vaporized of the nuclear testing program. of course, these islands belong to people. so he can never be recovered. we are still seeking nuclear justice for the people of the marshall islands. this is one of the legacies of sence in ours country. force from outside

to influence or to impact the likelihood of those on the marshall islands. amy: your grannies died at the age of eight of leukemia -- grand niece died at the age of eight of leukemia? >> yes. many children like that also. -- whate of the common you call it? sickness. >> one of the highest rates of cancer in the world. amy: you suffer the highest rates of cancer in the world? >> the impact of the people of the marshall islands, it is -- ensuring people are healthy. again, legacy of the nuclear program. " international court of justice at it is that within its

suitiction to rule on this that you have against the marshall islands and they threw the case out. are you still asking united states for reparations? what does it mean to you that at this cop, cop23, at the summit, the u.s. is pushing nuclear power? >> well, it is the same thing as in ang the use of coal world that acknowledged that climate change is here. and yet on the face of that, the u.s. is your pushing for use of clean coal, if there is such a thing. it is the same thing with the nuclear. here we are still struggling with that. of this see the end journey for those people who are impacted by the nuclear testing program of the united states. so we continue to seek justice. we will be going to the united

nations. we're also trying to get help from around the country to help us with the nuclear justice that is required. amy: on this gender day, we're here with the mother-daughter team. madam president, you are the first woman president not only of the marshall islands, but of the pacific islands. kathy jetnil-kijiner, you are her daughter and a longtime climate activist yourself. poet. you wrote a letter to your daughter. we just played a clip of it em to her daughter. what is into you that your mother has been elected president and what is a mean for the marshall islands? >> to be honest, i did not expect it to happen at all. i never thought i would the my mom as the leader of a country and is a leader of our country. not because she is not perfect for it, not because she is not worthy, but just because, you know, so much of our society is extremely patriarchal. i think that is a result of

colonization. seeing her become president tells me that there are actually changes being made and that there is actually hope for a lot of us women to continue to push and continue to take on leadership decisions and make changes that we want to see in the world. i think that is -- it gave me a lot of hope. i was extremely proud, of course. amy: your final comment? i know you're heading off to yet another meeting. this is part of being president. your final comment to women of the world, why you see in particular the effects of women and children, the effects of climate change, what you see are those effects? >> well, in the marshall islands, we see the effects on women in their life because they are the caretakers of the homes. so they are the ones who will have to go out and look for water for the family, for food in order to cook the meals for

the family. so their lives are really upside eventsen there is these from climate change. we see that first hand with our theght, would inundation of wake, and over a and washing homes away. leading themen solutions, looking for solutions for families. like they always do. climate change is another addition to the work that women continue to do to make their families their lives. dmy: we're going to en political leader of the marshall islands. i want to thank you for being with us. we're going to turn to longtime marshall islands political leader anti-nuclear activist tony de brum, the late leader. he was one of the world's most prominent voices confronting climate change, and spent decades organizing against

nuclear weapons after having witnessed firsthand the united states' nuclear testing on his homeland. this is de brum, speaking in 2015 as he accepted the right livelihood award, known as the alternative nobel peace prize. >> decades after conclusion of devastating nuclear testing in the marshall islands, i might be branded by some as a radical for my inpatient conviction against the use, testing, or possession of nuclear weapons. but this is not radical. it is only logical. i have seen with my very own and noch devastation with conviction that nuclear weapons must never again be visited upon humanity. between 1946 and 1958, the united states conducted 67 large-scale nuclear tests in the

marshall islands. that is the equivalence of 1.6 for 12ma shots every day years. amy: that was tony de brum, longtime marshall islands political leader accepting the right livelihood award a few years ago, the late leader. i want to end with kathy jetnil-kijiner talking about your no dapl solidarity, the dakota access pipeline. >> i was really inspired by the work of the indigenous dapl becausendno they were fighting for land and clean water in the same way we fighting for our eyelids in the marshall islands. and as the one who lives in the u.s. at the moment, i wanted to show my support for the people of their land and that is why i wrote that column for them last year. for me, i am really inspired by the work of a lot of indigenous

activists around the world were trying to fight for their homes, for their culture, and for the people. amy: thank you so much. our guest to have been kathy jetnil-kijiner, poet and climate activist, and the first woman president of the marshall islands president hilda heine. when we come back, kumi naidoo joins us to respond to the u.s. one and only session here at the cop summit where they brought in corporate executives from the nuclear, gas, and coal industry to represent their president of the united states. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "loving mother" by cesaria evora. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting live from the u.n. climate summit 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 , this first cop after president trump announced plans to pull the u.s. out of the paris climate accord. -- but it is a four-year process. if it backers succumb it in dr. the day after the next election day. the official debut of the illicit ministration was at a forum pushing coal, gas, nuclear power.

the presentation included speakers from peabody energy, new skill, and a gas exporter. we're continuing our conversation with kumi naidoo, south african activist, former head of greenpeace, now chairperson of africans rising for justice, peace and dignity. we have pleaded with david banks, the u.s. presidents representative, president trump's representative here who said he was completely accessible, state 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 a broadcast -- at least today. we will attempt to try. went off theas you set for a few minutes, you got a chance to speak with david banks. 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 "oh,g, but his argument is technology and innovation will solve everything." amy: but not solar and wind. >> he is focus -- i put it to

him, you realize you're giving up economic opportunities? his body lynwood suggests -- his body language suggests there are aware of that. they say president trump has not ruled out the possibility of coming back. let me tell you, you and i have been at cop for so long. thet now people want to say u.s. is going to be like this. let the rest of the world go-ahead. and we will work with the governors of those states that want to be involved, the majority of the municipalities in the united states want to be involved, civil society. amy: this is the "we are still in" coalition. yesterday, the governors of washington state and oregon almost took over the u.s. government's press event by just coming in and's dating basically -- and stating basically this is a sham.

>> the people that did the peaceful protests, they have been thrown out. amy: they have been? >> that is what i understand. i stand of the corrected. i did a protest and that happened to me as well some years ago. panelat they did with the is only the first panel. it is individual offense, really. they come and present -- amy: you mean the trump administration? >> to do a panel that actually goes against 99.99% of those scientific consensus of the world and to give them a platform to do that, i say to the unfcc, it is inappropriate and the u.n. cannot continue to pander to the madness that comes out of the trump administration. if you to say to them, want to be out, you stay out. don't come and poison this negotiation the way you're doing. those that are lying to the vision of the paris accord

camino, imperfect as it is, let us move ahead. what they do is they come and suck up a lot of oxygen, holdback negotiations, and let's be blunt. it is not as if the obama administration was perfect. they also help us back. it is just that suddenly, the trump administration -- amy: 10 seconds. >> time is running out. we need american people and we are happy at least american people are with us, if not the and at the president. amy: thank you so much, kumi naidoo, south african activist and the former head of greenpeace, now chaperson of africans rising for justice, peace and dignity. that does it for our broadcast here in bonn, germany. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

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