12/14/18 12/14/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from the u.n. climate summit in katowice, poland, this is d democracy now! >> we are not prepared to die.

once marco hasonce marco has nof dying. they're n not going to become te first victims of the climate crisis. amy: the former president of the maldives mohamed nasheed issues a dire warning, saying the survival of low lying island states is at risk. it comes a d day after the u.n. secretary general warned that failure at the climate talks would be suicidal. we will speak to president nasheed and dozens of polish press will students joined an international school strike today to protest the world's inaction on climate change. >> they know the facts. and maybe sometimes they don't want to admit it, but they know everything they need to know. they know the solution. they know we need to change because otherwise, the world will change in a way we don't want to know. amy: then, what is extinction rebellion? all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report.

i'm amy goodman. in a historic vote, the u.s. senate has passed a resolution calling for an end to us military and financial support for the saudi-led war on yemen. this represents the first time in u.s. history the senate has voted to withdraw military forces from an unauthorized war using the war powers resolution. the measure passed 56 to 41. democratic senator chris murphy of connecticut co-sponsored the bill. > i think tododay is a waterd moment f for congress. we are really asserting our responsibility to be a co-equal branch with the executive in foreign policymaking. it is a role that congress has abdicated for decades. and what we showed in this vote today is republicans andnd democrats are ready to get back into business of working with a president -- and sometimes against a president -- to set

the foreign policy of this nation. amy: but the bill is not expected to pass the house this year. on thursday, house republicans narrowly passed a farm bill which included a provision blocking a war powers resolution vote on yemen. the u.s.-backed saudi war has devastated yemen. a new report says half of yemen's 28 million people are now food insecure. nearly people died in yemen just 30000last month, making it the deadliest month in the past two years of war. on thursday, warring parties in yemen agreed to a ceasefire in the strategic port city of hodeida. in another vote related to saudi arabia, senators again rebuked president trump. unanimously the united states senate has said that crown prince mohammed bin salman is responsible for the murder of jamal khashoggi.

amy: that was republican senator bob corker, chair of the foreign relations committee. president trump and a number of top white house officials have refused to acknowledge saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman's involvement in the murder of saudi journalist jamal khashoggi, despite the cia concluding with high confidence he was directly responsible for ordering the killing. both democratic and republican senators have said for weeks they believe bin salman is guilty. khashoggi was a u.s. resident and columnist for "the washington post." he was killed by saudi agents after entering the saudi consulate in istanbul on october 2. his body was dismembered. "the washington post" is running a full-page ad today, calling for meaningful action to be taken over khashoggi's murder. the ad reads, "a life is gone. the principles of free expression endure." a seven-year-old girl guatemalan girl has died of dehydration and shock while in the custody of u.s. border patrol. she was detained last thursday,

along with her father and other migrants who crossed into the united states in a remote section of new mexico. she was brought to the hospital only after her body temperature was over 105 degrees. cynthia pompa of the aclu said -- "the fact that it took a week for this to come to light shows the need for transparency for customs and border protection. we call for a rigorous investigation into how this tragedy happened and serious reforms to prevent future deaths." president trump's 2016 inauguration committee is reportedly under investigation by federal prosecutors. the probe is related to possible misuse of funds and whether any foreign donors received access to the trump administration in exchange for contributions. russian gun rights activist maria butina has pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as a russian agent without registering with the justice department. butina has been jailed since july after being accused of trying to infiltrate the nra and other right-wing groups in the

lead up to the 2016 election. the house of representatives has overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for the release of the jailed burmese reuters journalists wa lone and kyaw soe oo. the vote came as journalists and press freedom advocates marked the first anniversary of the journalists' imprisonment after they were arrested while investigating a massacre committed by the burmese military targeting rohingya muslims in the village of inn din. they were sentenced to seven years in prison. in yangoon, more than 100 burmese journalists rallied this week calling for their release. >> the governments job is not to protect the military. the government is ignoring the fact that it needs democracy to develop the country the right way. instead, the government is protecting human rights violation committed by the army. amy: on monday, the journalists were honored as part of time

magazine's person of the year feature, which was given to persecuted journalists around the world.d. in iraq, nadia murad delivered a speech to high-level iraqi officials, just days after she received this year's nobel peace prize. >> i come to baghdad caring the nobel peace prize to say to all iraqis that we are all victims and theirsm and daesh blasphemous minds. i call upon you to act as one confronting or enemy. i come to baghdad to appeal to the new government to be a national government for all iraqis, regardless of the religion, ethnicity, and language. nokia -- nadia murad is a 25-year-old yazidi kurdish human rights activist from iraq. she was kidnapped by the islamic state and repeatedly raped as she was held as a sex slave for almost three years. in argentina, a court convicted two former ford motor executives of aiding in the kidnapping and torture of 24 workers during the country's military dictatorship in the 1970's.

pedro muller and hector francisco sibilla were sentenced to 10 and 12 years in prison respectively. they were found guilty of providing the personal information of workers to military forces, as well as allowing interrogations inside the ford factory. the case is the first time executives of a multinational corporation were found guilty of human rights crime i in argenti. lawyers for the victims have said they may also sue ford in u.s. court. in france, police have shot and killed 29-year-old cherif chekatt, the suspected gunman of tuesday's attack in the northeast city of strasbourg, which killed three and injured a dozen others. french authorities are referring to him as a terrorist and say he was being monitored and had been radicalilized. chekatt wawas reportedly scheded to be arresteded for an n armed robbery and attetempted murder charge on the day of the shooting. in news from africa, president trump's national security adviser john bolton has called

on morocco to finally a hold referendum in the occupied western sahara. morocccco has occupied w western sasahara since 1975, and no othr country in t the world recognizs its sovereignty over t the territory. in 1991, the u.n. promised sahrawis a referendum on self-determination. since then, morocco has blocked attempts to organize the vote. bolton spoke on thursday at the heritage foundation. >> all we want to do is hold a , 27rendum for 70,000 voters years later, the status of the territory still unresolved. i have gotten a know the people. i have enormous respect for them and for the government and people of morocco and algeria. is there not a way to resolve this? national security adviser john bolton's comments came a week after morocco and the western saharan liberation movement held their first direct talks in six years. the two sides agreed t to contie negotiations in the coming months. u.n. envoy horst kohler said --

"a peaceful solution to this conflict is possible." over theast four dade, thousands of western sahara's indigenous people -- the sahrawi -- have been tortured, imprisoned, killed and disappeared while resisting the moroccan occupation. you can see democracy now!'s exclusive documentary "four days in western sahara: africa's last colony" at democracynow.org. education secretary betsy devos will cancel $150 million in studenent debt after being forcd to abandon efforts to blblock a rule that created protections for students whose for-profit college defrauded them or shut down. in october, a judge sided with attorneys general from 18 states and the district of columbia who sued devos for delaying the obama-era rule. the policy allows for students to automatically have their debt canceled without formally applying for the benefit. and in north carolina, the state legislature has approved a bill requiring a new primary and

election if the state's election board calls for a re-vote in the contested ninth congressional district race. the race pits republican mark harris against democrat dan mccready. harris initially appeared to be the winner, but the race was never certified after evidence emerged of possible election fraud by republicans, who are accused of tampering with absentee ballots. politico is reporting that republicans may try to run another candidate in place of the scandal-ridden harris. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting from the u.n. climate summit in katowice, poland. this is the 10th climate summit we have reported from beginning and copenhagen. as we broadcast, hundreds of climate justice advocates -- activists are staging a protest right behind these u.n. talks. the convention center is modeled

after a coal mine. we turn now to our first segment. "we are not prepared to die." those are the words mohamed nasheed, thehe former presidentf the low lying island state of maldives, delivered here at the u.n. climate summit. on thursday, nasheed delivered an impassioneded plea fofor nats to overcome theieir differences and take decisive action to tackle climate change. >> we are not prepared to die. in the maldives has no intention of dying. they are not going to become the first victims of the climate crisis.. instead, we are going to do everything in ouour power to kep our heads above the water. we are not winning the battle. half of the problem is that we are still taking the leaders to stop polluting on ethical

grounds. but they are not listening to us. they never were. so instead, rather than asking for cuts, perhaps we should be demanding an increase, an increase in investments in clean energy. amy: that is former maldives president mohamed nasheed, recently r retned home to his island nation after two yeyearsn exile. he came to power as the first demomocratically e elected leadf the maldives in 2008 and became recognized internationally for his leadership on climate change. nasheed once held a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the threat of global warming to the maldives. he also pledged to make the maldives the first carbon neutral country and installed solar panels on the roof of his presidential residence. nanasheed's s presidency e enden 2012 in what many believe was a coup d'etat orchestrated by the opopposition and supported b bye military.

in 2015, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison after being charged under the maldives anti-terrorism law in 2015, a charge that amnesty international described as politically motivated. a year later, he was allowed to leave for britain for medical treatment. in november, he returned to the maldives after living in exile for two years. this came two months after his party returned to power. on november 26, maldives' top court vacated nasheed's sentence, saying he was wrongfully charged. internationally, mohamed nasheed is recognized as a climate champion. in 2012, director jon shenk released the film titled "the island president," on mohamed nasheed's rise to power and his clclimate activism. this is an excerpt. seas we canan'tt stop the a two, if you allow for degree rise in temperaturere, yu

are actuallyy agreeing to kill us. to kill us. amy: well, fast-forward to 2018 and mohamed nasheed is continuing his quest for climate justice. just a month after returning from exile, nasheed is now leading the maldives delegation here at the climate summit. he is joining us now. welcome back to democracy now! >> thank you for having me. amy: here we are sitting in a convention center that is shaped as a coal mine on an old coal mine site and behind is hundreds of time it activist in what is supposed to be the last day of the talks, though i think they are expected to go until tomorrow. talk about what has been achieved so far and why you are so deeply concerned that these talks are failing. nation,mall island there are a number of low-lying countries. climate change is not something in the future. it is happening. it is happening at the moment.

we of coastal erosion. we have issues with water. we have food security issues. we have a number of climate impacts that are being felt right now. for us it is not in the future. we have to have an understanding in this conference of the parties. this is the 24th conference of the parties. thisost importantly, from conference, we expect delegates implement the to paris agreement on climate change. we also hope that countries ,ould accept the ipcc report the scientific report, on climate change. amy: the ipcc is the nobel peace prize winning scientific panel of the u.n.? >> and they have been suggesting that anything above 1.5 degrees

would be very detrimental to a number of people, especially to countries like the maldives. .e would lose our reefs we would lose our clean water. we would have dwindling fish catch. we would lose our livelihood. it would be very difficult for us to survive. this summit is very important, mostly because it would give us a strategic action plan on how to implement the paris agreement. amy: there is a lot of u.n. understandis hard to , but extremely important in what the world agrees. can you explain what, but if he cheated -- differentiated responses all about and why you are concerned about the u.s. role here? >> it means we have a common responsibility, but it should be viewed differentially. developing countries, we did not contribute to climate change.

but we are the first to suffer from it. we have to differentiate our responsibility and a country such as the united states. amy: what are your concerns and explain whether or not you think it makes a difference that president trump is a climate change denier. the climate change negotiator you're dealing with here -- the head of the maldives climate association -- are pretty much the same as under obama, isn't that right? they are civil servants. >> they are the same people. therefore, we are able to have good conversations. but of course they have -- civil servants can be the same, but when their political masters change, the manner in which they engage changes. we want to see the united states agreeing to incorporate the scientific report that is

suggesting the world temperature should not rise above 1.5 degrees. amy: 2.7 degrees fahrenheit. >> 2.7 degrees fahrenheit. that is what we are requesting and asking from the united states, to agree to the scientific findings that the world tememperatures should noto beyond this radical limit. amy: and isn't there a push to say not only two degrees celsius member three degrees when the ipcc report said, we are facing climate catastrophe if we don't change our practices within 12 years? >> business as usual. -- if we have business as usual, the maldives is not going to be there. not just the maldives. a large number of low-lying lives onthe world

these low-lying areas. manhattanhe maldives, will also fail. it is not just the maldives we are talking about. in our case, we do not have dryland to go to. in manhattan, they can go to dryland. amy: from the maldives to manhattan, do you think these climate talks are failing? the u.n. secretary-general antonio guterres said it is suicidal if they do. >> i just come from a conversation with the secretary-general. the secretary-general has assured as them a small island nations, that we will do whatever he can to see that the ipcc report, the scientific report, will be incorporated into the final outcome of this conference. so again, i have a little bit of that the secretary-general will be able to do that. he will be in conversation with

the president of the united states and other countries who are not agreeing to include the scientific findings of the u.n. amy: in october 2009, maldives president mohamed nasheed held a cabinet meeting underwater in an attempt to bring attention to the dire consequences of climate change. nasheed and 11 of his government ministers wore scuba gear and plunged nearly 20 feet into the indian ocean. >> we are trying to send a message, let the world know what is happening and what will ifpen to the maldives climate change is not checked. this is a challenging situation. we want to see that everyone else is also occupied as much as we are and would like to see

that people actually do something about it. does --ammed but she mohamed nasheed. you are president at the time of this cabinet meeting? >> we had to impress the gravity of the issue. if we proceed business as usual, the maldives is not going to survive. we do not want to die and we refuse to give up hope. we have to see that we survive. and to do that, we have been working with every single person possible so that we will survivive. in many senses, what we get from the united states is -- california bring the fifth-largest economy in the to becomeoing carbon-neutral. the united states emissions has come down. the federal government has different wills. the people of the united states, i believe, do understand the

gravity of the issue and therefore, they want to embrace the future. renewable energy is now financially more feasible, economically more viable than the old technology. so we think that these new technologies will be embraced by the people of the united states. amy: we are hearing a lot of discussion, especially from the developing world, about extreme transparency in the problem people have with that. transparencyrs anything good. what is wrong with it? >> we do not know how much the different countries commit different amounts of assistance and different -- different levels of assistance to vulnerable countries. smart balance in the least ed countries are asking for transparency and clarity on how they will be tackling these issues. that is why the so-called rulebook becomes important.

amy: explain the rulebook. a lot of jargon, yet it means so much. >> it means to implement the paris agreement, you have to have a strategic action plan. you have to have modality on how we would be able to come out -- the outcome of the paris agreement. to do that, we have to have rules post country x would be doing that, country y would be doing this, person z would be doing this. it is a whole lot of bylaws that allows us to implement the paris agreement. amy: is the united states trying to water down the paris agreement? and regardless, leave come as trump promised, he would pull the u.s. out, it will just take a few more years? >> i think listening to the u.s. negotiations, what they're trying to do is leave a window open for them to be able to come back. states, sure the united

the good people of the united states, would want to come back into the international flora. planetuld want the intact. i am quite confident the united states will be in the paris agreement. amy: as we are talking, people are chanting and singing and giving speeches right behind us. among the things they are saying is, they are chanting "people power." can you talk about the significance -- i mean, you are a government official once again, although you been detained something like 14 times , was civil society action act this means? >> it means a lot. peopleians only do other want done. politicians cannot do anything facedthan what they're with by their people. political minds change when there is action and people talk. i believe this is very important. i think people all over the world should rise up and ask their politicians to act.

amy: in fact, that is what they are singing behind us "we will rise up." would you say these talks are failing? >> when i left very late last time from the conference, it was --butg like it might go now after having conversations with the secretary-general, i am very hopeful that there will be an understanding. amy: thank you so much for being with us. those people are chanting and cheering behind us here at the u.n. climate summit in katowice, poland. we have been speaking with the former president of the maldives, mohamed nasheed, to attain 14 times, tortured and held in the maldives. now he is the u.n. climate negotiator for the maldives here in poland. when we come back, you will learn what extinction rebellion is.

but first, we will speak with one of the protesters who was just involved with what is happening behind us. this is democracy now! back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

amy: "winter green and summer blue" by nancy wilson, the legendary jazz singer and song stylist who died thursday at her home in california. she was 81 years old.

blue and green are the theme at this year's u.n. climate summit. we are broadcasting from the u.n. climate summit in katowice, poland, where hundreds of demonstrators are gathered just beyond our set to demand bolder action from world leaders to demand, justice. they're holding banners saying "which side are you on?" >> we are here to denounce solution by big polluters. we are here to promote solutions that are credible. we are here to expose the inequities of corporations at cop.

social consequences in communities around the world. in the niger delta am a right come from. pollution is devastating community lives and livelihoods. we may not -- communities have been sickened by these corporations. in ourights abuses communities. destroying our local food systems. destroying our forest and causing a lot of climate change in community's affecting people and our climate. we say we are here to denounce the activities. we are here to promote solutions that are sustainable. we're here to let the people

and. amy: that was rita of friends of the eartrth nigeria. and as we broadcast today from the u.n. climate talks, right next to us, hundreds of people their handsout with up in a fist sign. we are now joined by one of the demonstrators maya menezes, canadian climate activist and member of the canadian youth delegation here at the u.n. climate talks. she is senior manager of development at climate justice organization the leap. she is also a migrant rights organizer with no one is illegal. describe what you're are seeing right behind you. >> we have an incredible coalition of climate activists from across the global south, but also their allies in the global north calling for the decarbonization of the cop and for climate justice movement that centers people, not polluters list of amy: what does that mean? are you concerned about what has come out of these talks --

though they are continuing until tomorrow -- what are you demanding that has to happen? >> we want to see people's rights and protections of marginalized people at the core. we know it just never happens. it is not an interest of wealthy corporate elites to make sure that marginalized people's voices are heard. it is recommended organizers have to mobilize in the way that we do to ensure that message reaches the public. that is what we're calling for today. amy: according to some projections, 1/5 of the world's 2100, that is 2 billion people, could become climate refugees. that is by the end of the century. have you in climate talks addressed this staggering number we're talking about? you are particularly focused on migrants and what does climate migrants mean? ways that wehe

talk about migrants and refugee languagetually uses that makes it very easy for right-wing extremism to navigate the space in a way where we start to call people and refer to them as "legals." a lot of the conversations around migrants and refugees centers run "regular migration "safe" migration. i organize against in toronto. right now we're seeing a lot of people on the move with the migrant caravan. many people have applied for asylum in the united states. ims willle whose cla be denied. safer country agreement is thatally a piece of law bars people who have applied for asylum in the u.s. and been

denied access to apply for asylum in canada. migrant rights activists having calling for canada to rescind this for a very long time. it is basically so the u.s. is a safe country. we know this will serve to bar people who are in the migrant caravan from being able to get access to canada. that is something we want to see removed immediately. amy: we just reported in our headlines about the seven-year-old guatemalan girl who came over the border with her dad. she has just died of dehydration and shock. we just learned of this. while in the custody of u.s. border patrol. they did not take her to the hospital until her temperaturepeaked over 105 degrees. this treatment of migrants and what this bodes for the future and where you think the kind of activism you are involved in complaint roll? >> i think we need to invest in

organizers who are fighting this that migrants and refugees are seen as dangerous in our society. it is a very, very frightening, and believe. this thing which that has allowed people, i guess a story of when we found out about the caging of migrant children and the removal from their families in the u.s., there was international days of action, were people occupied outside of u.s. consulates, calling for this to end. when i was going to the crowd afterward, i spoke at a rally. i was talking to parents who were there with children who were saying -- i said, what draws you hear? we know these children are being traumatized, being treated so inhumanely, and we need an end to detentions and deport haitians. many family members said, i don't believe that people should be in prison. i think people should be in jail together. that is a very scary thing.

it is a very scary thing to be faced with. what we're trying to organize on the ground is a rejection that some people are deserving of basic dignities and rights and others are not. we understand that most of the world either will be turned into a desert war will be uninhabitable due to temperatures, stormed changes. we need to make sure that a climate plan that talks about decreasing emissions also has an open conversation that the borders must be open and people must have clear avenues to status and citizenship and safety wherever they want to move to. amy: can you talk about the canadian role here at the u.n. talks? one of your representatives, her event was just disrupted. >> yes, definitely. canada has an interesting role. we are touted as a progressive government, yet we have some of the harshest refugee and migrant laws out there. there was an event we heard about between i think it was clara perry and catholic -- kathleen mccarroll.

the u.k. environment minister and the canadian minister of environment and climate change. it was about getting off coal, which is all fun and great for the canadian government right now, 80% of oil and gas emissions largely coming out of the tar sands are going to be exempt from the federal carbon pricing plan -- which is outrageous. a complete oxymoron to say we care about the climate and reducing emissions, but then exempting eight a percent of oil and gas from that carbon pricing plan. the role of canada is interesting and that regard. we're here to call out domestic policies that are completely out of sync with what canada says on the international stage, from migration and refugee issues to carbon emissions plants i don't hold polluters accountable at all. amy: the united nations formally recognized climate migration for the first time this week, with more than 160 nations agreeing to the united nations' global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration at a meeting in marrakesh, morocco. the compact asks nations to

"provide basic services for migrants, whether they enter a country legally or illegally," "facilitate access to procedures for family reunification for migrants at all skill levels," and "establish mechanisms for the portability of social security entitlements." the united states did not sign onto the agreement. in a statement, the u.s. state department said -- "the united states proclaims and reaffirms its belief that decisions about how to secure its borders, and whom to admit for legal residency or to grant citizenship, are among the most important sovereign decisions a state can make, and are not subject to negotiation." your thoughts? >> i think something that really bothers me about all of this countries liken a sign onto these agreements, i think that is fantastic and a lot of different ways but we also have domestic policy that face ofly flies in the it. in canada, with the agreement, we know people who are applying for asylum in the migrant caravan, many of whom have come

from central and south america, are on the move not because of tsunamis, but because of war and destabilization. we know canada supported the coup in honduras in 2009 in order to continue canadian mining practices and expand their reach. we know the many wanderings in the migrant caravan who have applied for asylum in the u.s. are not going to be up to apply for asylum in canada because of the safer country agreement. this is war and mining profiteering that candidate is championing in central and south america. then when these people are on the move because of political destabilization, we deny them at the border. this is a climate issue. it is not taken up in these documents the way it should be are by the a canadian government the way they need to be accountable for it. amy: thank you for being with us, maya menezes, canadian climate activist and member of the canadian youth delegation here at the u.n. climate talks. senior manager of development at climate justice organization the leap. she is also a migrant rights organizer with no one is illegal.

this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the climateast from u.n. talks in poland, we turn now to look at a u.k. happen based movement taking extreme action to fight the climate crisis. it is called extinction rebellion. its members have been supergluing themselves to government buildings, shutting down roads, and taking to the streets to sound the alarm about the impending catastrophe of global warming. extinction rebellion marched here in katowice last saturday to protest u.n. climate talks. in november, extinction rebellion protesters shut down london bridges, blockaded the u.k. department for business and energy, and attempted to interrupt brexit negotiations. theercoconcerdbobout

seriousness s of things. c centigrade.s well, that is well osiside the range. enormomo unknown dangers. now whatbody needs to is c comg. erybody needs toakake up i i only got arrerested for the first t time two daysys ago, anw i am doioing it again.n. basically, become disobedient with the system as a result o of our impepending dangerer. is criminallyent complacent in the mass murder of all lives on this planet, and i will not be silent. amy: those are members of extinction rebellion, a movement taking radical action to combat the climate crisis. it started in the united kingdom just six months ago and has now spread to at least 35 countries.

extinction rebellion is demanding governments commit to legally binding measures to slash consumption reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025. we are joined by extinction rebellion activist liam geary baulch. he just participated in an action here at the u.n. climate summit, not far from the democracy now! set. it is great to have you with us. even using words like "global warming" or " climate change," people field is not convey the urgency of this issue. you all have decided to use the and extinctionn" rebellion is your group. . >> we're talking about what we're seeing now, not in an alarmist way, but a realistic way. we're facing what could be the next mass extinction. we are already grieving over the lives lost, both human and otherwise, to climate change.

we're talking to people about the fact we might now be facing human extinction. we are asking people to face that and feel that emotional response to this crisis, what we're calling an emergency crisis. we want to shift the language to emergency crisis, and to respond to that, move through that into action. amy: explain your actions. it has just been six months since you guys got started. what have you done in the u.k.? >> we just did our first action a month and a half ago. we gathered outside the u.k. parliament and declared rebellion against the government. this is not a one-off protest or direct action against a specific corporation, this is an ongoing rebellion against our government in the u.k. over there in action on climate change. we lay down in the road and other people read out the declaration of rebellion. said, we are, we're

going to keep rebellion -- rebilling. i was arrested that day. amy: and what happened? >> then we were released. most of us have been released. they are aware part of our movement is the fact with hundreds, if not thousands of people, willing to get arrested for this cause, willing to give up their freedom about this issue is the time for action is now. we're calling on our government to tell the truth. amy: supergluing ourselves? >> we shut down the department of is this energy strategy a week later and that led to a series of actions where people were risking arrest. we saw activists decided to shut down mr. from after six hours by supergluing themselves to the doors. that is the department having backroom meetings for fracking companies are refusing to go and meet the people who have to live next door to where they are trying to frack in the u.k.. amy: you shut down five bridges. how? >> we of seen an amazing

response. about a month and a half ago, our campaign exploded. we have a reach of 100,000 people from over 35 countries around the world and over 6000 people came out on december 17 on the 17th and blocked bridges. members of the public in the thousands took to the streets and sat in the roads and celebrated our resistance against this system. people are angry and are calling for a change to the system. i think that is what we have been seeing in the action behind us, what we're seeing and movements like the sunrise movement's and the school strikes. this is being felt all across the world. amy: today is the school strike globally that greta thunberg has called for. we will hear from a polish high school student who made it to the cop today, walked out of school. this is your fourth conference of parties, your fourth u.n. climate summit?

do you think it is succeeding? do you think it is failing? >> the political system is broken. the political system in the u.k. and here. assembly to ber formed, holy system which can solve this crisis without the politicians continuing to talk to each other. i'm here at cop to talk to activist on the ground, to learn from each other, grassroots movements around the world. we're here to talk with those people about how they can join us next year on april 15 will we declare an international rebellion. amy: i want to thank you very much, liam geary baulch, activist with a new group in britain but spreading around the globe, extinction rebellion. you are planning a weeklong rebellion april 15? >> yes, and we hope to see you and your viewers there. find your local groups. get involved and trained in a nonviolent disobedience and take part in the extinction

rebellion. amy: we urge you to continue to watch democracy now! as we are there not only in the streets, but in the suits and at these u.n. climate summit as well as the gatherings that are taking place all over the world. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: polish has will students singing michael jackson's "earth song" here at the cop24, the u.n. climate talks here in katowice, poland. i am amy goodman. 15-year-old swedish climate activist greta thunberg has called for a global strike today to protest inaction at the u.n. climate summit. she made headlines after she refused to go to school in august and september and began a school strike for climate. she made the call for today's strike in a video posted on twitter.

>> hello. my name is greta thunberg. i'm 15 years old and i come from sweden. i'm here at the united nations climate change talks in poland. we are on week two o of negotiations. as o of now, therere are no o sf climatate action. our emissions arare still inincreasing, at the same titims the science has clearly told us we need to act now too k keep te plant within 1.5 degrees of warming. whoever you are, wherever you are, we need you now. this friday, december 14, i am calling for an international climate strike. please strike with us. stand outside our parliament or your local government office eveven for just t a short whileo let them know ththat we demand climate action. amy: the words of 15-year-old swedish climate activist greta thunberg, who just left the u.n. that.e summit last

her dad driving their electric car through the night so she could sit in front of the swedish parliament once again where she goes every friday in a school strike against climate change. here in katowice, poland, at least 30 local has schools students answered greta's call, walking out of classes today and caring the message here to the cop. they sang and chanted while sitting on the steps of the main conference hall, holding signs that said "12 years left" and #climatestrike. i live next to katowice and i go to school in katowice. i wasn't there today because i want -- i went to support the climate protests and greta and her idea and i want politicians to make a good choice for all of

us. >> you said you are inspired by greta thunberg who spoke year at cop. can you talk about her message and why it resonated with you? >> i think what she did was really brave and amazing because not many young people have the feeling they can do something. lot.nk one person can do a she is a great example of this. .> your holding up some letters talk about what the words are that you are holding up. >> we have letters that say "12 years left." it is because of the paris scientistsnd about is that if we do nothing to 2030, we are really in danger.

it will end really badly for all of us. for humanity and for the entire world. >> tell me what song you are singing today? >> we are singing "earth song" by michael jackson. we are singing it after powell a -- acapella. the song is really beautiful. it is perfect for today's occasion. what about sunrise what about rain what about all of f the thihings that you said we were to gain what about killing fields is there a time what about all the things that you said were yours and minene notice a allstop to the blood we have shed before

♪d you ever stop to notice ♪ >> what is your message to the negotiators here at cop? >> they know the facts most of and maybe they sometimes don't want to admit it, but they know eveverything they need to know. they know the sosolution. they know that we need to change because otherwise, the world will change in a way we don't want to know. to not ignore anymore all the threats and to do something. and not just for money, not just for the economy, but for us, for all of the people, for the animals and plants and for our

world. amy: a special thank you to john hamilton, carla wills, and hanny massod. greta thunberg returned to sweden last that. they were driving an electric car. she said she tried to get -- she would not make it a stockholm posted she just posted a photo of her cell participating in the climate strike. we end today's coverage of the u.n. climate talks here in katowice, poland, with saleemul huq climate scientist and the , director of the international center for climate change and development in bangladesh. he is advising the bloc of least developed countries in the climate negotiations. what is your progress report? are they succeeding or failing? >> their succeeding at a very low level of getting the technical stuff done, but it is not succeeding at all at the political level in terms of the emergency that we have for climate change with 12 years remaining.

the compositions we see on paper at the moment are nowhere near enough to be ambitious to tackle the problem. amy: what does it mean, the historically greatest greenhouse gas emissions her, the u.s., thet president has not come and in fact is a climate denier. how does that affect the summit? >> i think effective president trump and his delegation here, i'm not going to count the , have joined forces with saudi arabia and with russia to in fact try and undo the paris agreement that we had agreed a few years ago. they've chosen a very trivial thing to talk about, which is whether or not we welcome the ipcc special report on 1.5. but it is a significant thing because they are trying to undo the science and challenge the in the and not believe science.

that is not acceptable. 193 countries want to welcome the report, and ali the four countries are saying they do not want to welcome it. amy: and they succeeded. they got the language changed. is it just semantics? >> it is in a sense, but it is much more than semantics. it means they are trying to undo what we have collectively done in paris, the paris agreement. we will not accept that, speaking now on the half of the most vulnerable countries. amy: and the yet the u.s. is pulling out of the accord. so why do people listen to them? >> that is the conundrum. if mr. trump was to withdraw, why did he sell a delegation here at all? i think the delegation is done here to withdraw the u.s., but to try and stuff the rest of the countries from going ahead. amy: what are you seeing as the critical issues in this last minute? >> from the vulnerable countries perspective and the vulnerable

community's, the most important thing is to recognize the fact we now have loss and damage because of climate change. this is an issue we have talked about for some time, but it is a reality in 2018, including the wildfires in california and the hurricanes on the east coast in the united states. those caused significant amount of loss and damage. that is attributable to the fact we have increased the temperature of the global already to a degree and another 1.5 or even two degree rise is going to be catastrophic for the rest of the world. we need loss and damage to be recognized, particularly, to be compensated for. amy: will you be joining extinction rebellion? >> imi member. here is my card. [laughter] , thank you foruq being with us, climate scientists, director of the international center for climate change and development in bangladesh. that wraps up our tent cop at democracy now! covered,

beginning in copenhagen in 2009. a special thank you to our crew here in katowice, poland. a very happy birthday to renee feltz. 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. to see our full week's coverage from katowice, poland, you can go to democracynow.org. if you want to see democracy now! attempting to question the u.s. representative at these climate talks, go to democracynow.org.

you can read the transcripts as videos the audio, transcripts and podcast. and to see greta thunberg give her plenary address, the 15-year-old climate activist, go to democ

donald d trump: i'm establilishg new vettining measures to keep radical islamamic terrorists out of the united states of america. we don't want 'em here. larara kiswani:i: there's a stia of ararab people, , muslim peoee in ththis country designed to perprpetuate andnd justify t thr on teterror, and that's what a lot of arabs and muslims are facing today, sort of a really undignified struggle to just live. dr. raramzi salti: it takess courage e to be able to stand dp to racisism, turn itit into a positive moment a momoment of learning g where you u actually use that momement to educate, to let people know about the rich diversity of your culturere. lamees dahbour: we e want our community,y, like, sanan francio