Climate Takeaways From the U.N. General Assembly

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So you saw that, this week at the U.N., everyone was talking about climate. We have had pledges from the Chinese premier that he will not have any more coal-fired plants built outside. You saw that Biden promised extra help on tackling the global crisis. What do you think? Was this real opportunity?

KATHARINE HAYHOE, CLIMATE SCIENTIST: It was. The Paris agreement is like a potluck dinner, each country bringing something different, a different dish to the table. Up until now, it is very clear we do not have enough food on the table. We cannot hold warming to anything below 2.7 degrees — and, even then, it’s only a two-thirds chance — without further ambition. So what we are seeing is what needs to be brought to the table. And, of course, with Boris Johnson, the U.K. is now leading the way among high- income countries.

AMANPOUR: So, let me ask you about that, because, yes, they talk the talk. And for a period of time, it was considered the U.K. had done quite considerable advances. But there are complaints that it’s still lagging way behind schedule for cutting carbon emissions. That’s according to the Green Alliance. And the prime minister, while saying what he did at the U.N. is also supporting drilling in the North Sea. And there are plans for a new coal mine still in a place called Cumbria here. Xi Jinping promised not to build any more coal-fired plants outside, but has not made any such promise inside. And there is — 58 percent of that country’s energy demand is — at least in 2020, was based on coal. So where do you see the hope between rhetoric, words and action?

HAYHOE: Well, you can say the same thing about the United States to in terms of allowing new oil and gas leases, on one hand, with an aggressive climate plan on the other. It just doesn’t all add up. And you’re exactly right. People are still trying to hang on to the status quo, trying to adapt our way out, adapt our systems out of it, when we really, truly are in a crisis. As the IPCC said, it’s code red. And, again, it’s not about the planet itself. The planet will be orbiting the sun long after we’re gone. It truly is about saving us. And this is why we need all hands on board. And we need these promises to be fulfilled.