Speaker 1: The leaders of the world Free and otherwise are in
Speaker 1: Eastern Europe right now talking about climate change? Is it
Speaker 1: too little, too late? Hello, and welcome to Parts Pervillion,
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Environment's weekly podcast. I'm your host, David Schultz. In
Speaker 1: case you haven't heard, there's a big international climate change
Speaker 1: summit going on right now, and we'll hear from the
Speaker 1: person at the head of the UN General Assembly a
Speaker 1: little later on in the show. But first, we'd like
Speaker 1: to start off each episode of Parts Pavilion with a
Speaker 1: little news quiz. The way this works as we bring
Speaker 1: in a couple of Bloomberg Environment reporters each week and
Speaker 1: test them on their knowledge of what's been going on
Speaker 1: in the news. The winner gets bragging rights throughout the newsroom,
Speaker 1: the loser doesn't. And today joining us are Bloomberg Environments,
Speaker 1: Fatima Hussein and I'm Anna say Ed. Thank you so
Speaker 1: much for joining us, Thank you, thank you for having us,
Speaker 1: and let's get started. Here is question number one. If
Speaker 1: Congress can't reach a federal spending agreement by midnight on Friday,
Speaker 1: we're going to have a government shutdown. But if it
Speaker 1: does happen, this one would be a little different than
Speaker 1: the previous shutdowns. Because Congress has already passed spending packages
Speaker 1: for a few federal agencies. The question is, name three
Speaker 1: of the agencies that would not be affected by a
Speaker 1: shutdown if it were to happen at the end of
Speaker 1: this week. Chime it in at any time. Defense Department.
Speaker 1: You're gonna use the shaker. You gotta use the shaker.
Speaker 1: There you go. Okay, I'm recognizing amana. Defense Department. That's one.
Speaker 1: Homeland Security, that is wrong. Keep going, that's also wrong. Alright,
Speaker 1: I'd give up, fatima. Would you like to try to steal?
Speaker 1: So you already have one Defense department? Correct, Labor Department,
Speaker 1: that's right, You need one more, one more to win?
Speaker 1: Is really struggling? Department of Education? That is correct? Yes, whoah,
Speaker 1: whoa whoa, All right, that is right. If the is
Speaker 1: a government shutdown, those three agencies and several others would
Speaker 1: not be affected. They would still continue to operate because
Speaker 1: Congress already passed spending bills for those agencies. However, some
Speaker 1: of the agencies that would shut down would be the
Speaker 1: Department of Agriculture, NASA, Homeland Security, most importantly to us EPA,
Speaker 1: the Department of the Interior, and hud to name a few.
Speaker 1: So this would be an interesting shutdown if it does happen.
Speaker 1: But we'll see what happens. It's bizarre that FEMA is
Speaker 1: not being our Department of Homeland Security is not being
Speaker 1: funded because with all the disasters wildfires, earthquake, and Alaska,
Speaker 1: you would think that agency would remain funded. You're right.
Speaker 1: I think the main reason why they can't agree on
Speaker 1: that agency is because that's the one that would build
Speaker 1: the border wall, which is the main sticking point. The
Speaker 1: administration wants funding to build this wall. Democrats in Congress
Speaker 1: and some Republicans also don't want to give it to them.
Speaker 1: So that's where the logjam is there. Question number two.
Speaker 1: As we mentioned at the top, there's a big international
Speaker 1: climate change conference going on right now. The group that
Speaker 1: is putting that conference on is the UN Framework Convention
Speaker 1: on Climate Change. Here's the question. Which US president signed
Speaker 1: on to the UN treaty that created this group? Fatima,
Speaker 1: I could be wrong, Bill Clinton, You are extremely wrong.
Speaker 1: It could not be more wrong. Sorry about that. Sorry,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna would you like to steal was that the
Speaker 1: late President Bush? That is correct. I'm gonna wins that point.
Speaker 1: The President who's signed on to the UN treaty that
Speaker 1: created the Climate Framework Group was the late George hw
Speaker 1: Bush who died on Friday at the age of ninety four.
Speaker 1: That was one of his signature environmental achievements as well
Speaker 1: as he signed on to the Clean Air Act amendments
Speaker 1: of nineteen ninety one that really reshaped how we regulate
Speaker 1: air in this country. George hw Bush died on Friday
Speaker 1: at the age of ninety four. The score now is
Speaker 1: I'm gonna one Fatima one. This will be the tiebreaker here.
Speaker 1: Whoever get wins. This is going all the way. The
Speaker 1: third question bloomberg environments. Bobby McGill is at the UN
Speaker 1: conference that I just mentioned as we speak. That is
Speaker 1: where he is right now. The question is what country
Speaker 1: is Bobby McGill in right now? I think that was
Speaker 1: I'm gonna Poland, that's right. I need that Bobby gotta
Speaker 1: be a little bit bigger, quicker on the draw. Bobby
Speaker 1: McGill right now is in Poland at the UN Framework
Speaker 1: Convention on Climate Change Conference. We are going to be
Speaker 1: hearing from him a little bit later in the podcast,
Speaker 1: so stay tuned for that. But right now it looks
Speaker 1: like Amana has won. Congratulations to her. You win nothing, Fatima,
Speaker 1: you have lost. You lose nothing. Thank you now, and
Speaker 1: now we're going to take a little bit of a break,
Speaker 1: but we'll be back in a second with more of
Speaker 1: what's going on in Poland. Stay tuned. All right, we're
Speaker 1: back and we're about to head to Poland. That's where
Speaker 1: the twenty fourth meeting of the UN Framework Convention on
Speaker 1: Climate Change is taking place right now. And by the way,
Speaker 1: just for some context, this is the UN group that
Speaker 1: was responsible for the Paris climate degree, So these guys
Speaker 1: are a big deal Bloomberg environments. Bobby Miguel was able
Speaker 1: to catch up with Maria Fernando Espinoza, President of the
Speaker 1: UN General Assembly, in Poland, and he asked her about
Speaker 1: the state of humanity's attempts to address this global problem.
Speaker 1: I think that we are in an emergency situation because
Speaker 1: it so happens that climate change is not we used
Speaker 1: when we started with the climate negotiations. It was something
Speaker 1: that we thought was going to happen in the future,
Speaker 1: even though we had very concrete and solid evidence. But
Speaker 1: we were thinking about climate negative impacts to come. And
Speaker 1: now it is so obvious that it is happening and
Speaker 1: happening now. It's devastating entire countries and economies. That happened
Speaker 1: in Dominica, in Fiji it happens eighty percent of the
Speaker 1: entire infrastructure just swiped out in one store. And these
Speaker 1: things are happening. The two million climate migrants and refugees
Speaker 1: only in twenty eighteen is a reality. So we are touching,
Speaker 1: you know, the devastating effects of climate change. So it's
Speaker 1: not about the future, it is about the present, and
Speaker 1: it is really putting in question our capacity to deliver
Speaker 1: on you know, the basics. The basics meaning the sustainable
Speaker 1: development goals attend twenty thirty, the survival of people and
Speaker 1: their fundamental right to their livelihoods and to their countries
Speaker 1: of origin. So the situation really cries for urgent action.
Speaker 1: How does that change? How is this urgency changing in
Speaker 1: the politics of the rule book and I guess primarily
Speaker 1: of climate finance as well, considering that you know, these
Speaker 1: have been challenging discussions. Is this new evidence going to
Speaker 1: break through any any sort of impast Well, I think
Speaker 1: that that really raised the awareness, raised the concern, but
Speaker 1: also raised the commitment. And we are seeing for example,
Speaker 1: you know, a very strong involved commitment of Germany for
Speaker 1: the replenishment of the Green Climate Fund. You know, strong
Speaker 1: voice from the eighteen European countries that gathered around a
Speaker 1: call from the from the Austrian president. He put together
Speaker 1: a group of eighteen countries saying yes, we need to
Speaker 1: increase our ambition and recommit. And we have a European
Speaker 1: Union that is saying we will be a free coal
Speaker 1: region by twenty to fifty. So these are the kind
Speaker 1: of commitments that we need and we need to really
Speaker 1: scale up the ambition that we already had in Paris.
Speaker 1: This brings you know, greater urgency but also the urgent
Speaker 1: the cry need of coming up with very concrete specific
Speaker 1: solutions on the use of renewables, on the shift the
Speaker 1: restructuring of our production matrixes, but also in a change
Speaker 1: of culture in the demand side, the consumers. The way
Speaker 1: the consumers have to change, the way they leave, they
Speaker 1: where they interact, they where they buy, the way they consume.
Speaker 1: So this is a completely a game changer because we
Speaker 1: are putting, you know, in risk the very existence of
Speaker 1: humankind in this planet. It's not a minor issue. Curious
Speaker 1: what you think about the US and presumably Brazil sort
Speaker 1: of stepping aside in their in their leadership on climate
Speaker 1: Brazil specifically, Where do you think how do you think
Speaker 1: Volscenara's election in Brazil will affect the success of Paris overall. Well,
Speaker 1: I would say that a climate change is perhaps one
Speaker 1: thing that affects every country and everybody, and there are
Speaker 1: different ways of responding to the climate crisis and the
Speaker 1: climate challenges. If you ask me, the climate is the
Speaker 1: typical global problem that requires multilateral global responses, and the
Speaker 1: house for multilateralism is the United Nations. So I think
Speaker 1: that's the way to deal and address the issue. There
Speaker 1: are some other countries and I think we need to
Speaker 1: be very respectful that they think that they just can do,
Speaker 1: you know, perhaps for the time being, you know, without
Speaker 1: you know, embarking in this, you know, in the multilateral architecture.
Speaker 1: But what I hope is that the positive developments we
Speaker 1: have seen in the United States, for example, the hundreds
Speaker 1: of cities coming together mayors of cities embracing the Paris
Speaker 1: Agreement and saying we are going to deliver on this.
Speaker 1: This is very promising when you see individual states of
Speaker 1: the United States saying we will take up the Paris
Speaker 1: Agreement and we will deliver because this is so important.
Speaker 1: So I think that the role of local governments in
Speaker 1: general is extremely important. And you know, in the case
Speaker 1: of Brazil, let's hope that the same will happen. So
Speaker 1: given the a moment ago you called this climate change
Speaker 1: a global emergency, what gives you the most hope that
Speaker 1: humanity will tackle this in a constructive and effective way. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, if you see at the climate crisis as
Speaker 1: a puzzle, as a whole complex landscape, we have the evidence,
Speaker 1: we have the science, we have the knowledge, we have
Speaker 1: the technologies. You know, we still need to do more,
Speaker 1: but we have the resources. So now it is about
Speaker 1: factoring all these elements to deliver. There is the awareness
Speaker 1: and the political will of the majority. It's almost unanimous,
Speaker 1: no one. I mean, I just ended a meeting with
Speaker 1: indigenous peoples. I participated in the Youth summit yesterday, Youth
Speaker 1: Climate Summit yesterday, And you see that this is an
Speaker 1: issue for society. It's not only for political leaders or
Speaker 1: the political class, but it's for everybody. So my hope
Speaker 1: relies on the possibility of humankind to respond to life
Speaker 1: threatening child that's where my hope relies, and that has
Speaker 1: to align the willingness of politicians, of the private sector,
Speaker 1: of organized civil society, and I think that we have
Speaker 1: to harvest from that momentum. That was Maria Fernanda Espinoza,
Speaker 1: President of the UN General Assembly, speaking with Bloomberg Environment's
Speaker 1: Bobby McGill from the UN Climate Conference in Poland. Thanks
Speaker 1: Bobby for sending that along. To keep up with Bobby's
Speaker 1: every dispatch from Poland, you know where to go. It's
Speaker 1: our website, news dot Bloomberg environment dot com. That website,
Speaker 1: once again is news dot Bloomberg Environment dot com. This
Speaker 1: episode of Parkspavilion was produced by myself and Jessica Coombs.
Speaker 1: Our editor is Marissa Horn and our audio engineer is
Speaker 1: Nicholas and Zelada. The music for Parspavilion is a message
Speaker 1: by Jazzar and Polski Obertoski by Metchislaw Zakowski. Tune in
Speaker 1: next week for more