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Shots Fired Outside U.S. Embassy in Lebanon; Major Asylum Restrictions in Effect at U.S. Southern Border; U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Delivers Dire Climate Change Warning; Israel Phasing Out Controversial Detention Center; Earth Endures 12 Straight Months of Unprecedented Heat; New Economic Models Needed to Address Crisis; Boeing Starliner to Attempt First Crewed Mission. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired June 05, 2024 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): It is the second hour of the show. I'm Becky Anderson, the time is 6 o'clock in the evening.

Coming up, fears of regional escalation once again, after a gunman opened fire outside the U.S. embassy in Lebanon.

Plus a special address on the climate emergency from the U.N. secretary general. It coincides with new damning reports set to be released this

hour.

And U.S. President Biden's ban is now in effect. A look at how the politics of this could make or break his reelection campaign.

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ANDERSON: Well, new questions this hour in the Middle East after a gunman fired shots outside the U.S. embassy in Lebanon. The Lebanese army says the

suspect is now in hospital.

Tensions have been heightened in Lebanon since Israel's war on Hamas began in October, with a surge in cross border attacks on what is the northern

border in Israel, the southern border in Lebanon.

Just today, a visit near that border for Israel's prime minister elicited this warning that his country is prepared for, quote, "very intense action"

in the region. Few people know Lebanon region better than CNN's Ben Wedeman. Jeremy Diamond also with us. He has very latest on the

controversial Jerusalem Day.

Let's start with you, Ben.

What do we know about where what happened in Beirut today and the context for that?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This happened around 8:30 in the morning local time, when there was small arms fire in what

appears to be the parking lot in front of the U.S. embassy, where people just usually leave their cars if they're going in to get visas and things

like that.

Now what we've seen on social media is video of a lone gunman, who seems to be wearing body armor. His face is masked, there is shooting going on.

Now the U.S. embassy put out a statement, saying that the Lebanese security forces, which are deployed in large numbers around the embassy, in addition

to embassy security reacted quickly when this happened, that no U.S. embassy staff were injured and no damage occurred to the embassy itself.

Now Najib Mikati, who's the caretaker prime minister of Lebanon, said that an intensive investigation has begun into this incident. We understand that

the brother of the lone shooter has been detained. He's been described as a Syrian national, according to the Lebanese official national news agency.

There have been a number of Lebanese security force raids on houses in a town called Majdal Anjar (ph), which is near the Syrian border in eastern

Lebanon. But this certainly underscores the level of tension in Lebanon that has been high since the 7th of October.

Certainly, we have seen daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and other Lebanese factions and Israeli forces on the other side of the border. And

what we've seen, certainly in the last week, is an intensification of that cross-border fire.

And the visit by prime minister Netanyahu to the area and his warning of intense action against Lebanon certainly underscore just how dangerous this

situation is in Lebanon -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Ben, let's hear from the prime minister, who was, as you rightly pointed out, in northern Israel today, following a barrage of rocket

attacks from Lebanon.

[10:05:00]

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Whoever thinks that they can hurt us and that we will sit idly by is making a big mistake. We are

prepared for very intense action in the north. One way or another, we will restore security to the north (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: What's the Israeli strategy here?

WEDEMAN: Well, certainly what the Israelis would like to do is use their superior firepower to really convince Hezbollah to stop firing on Israel.

Now Hezbollah said, every time it strikes Israeli targets along the border, which are, for the most part, military targets, it says it is in support of

the Palestinian resistance and the people of Gaza.

But of course, Hezbollah is not Hamas. Hezbollah, according to the Israelis, has more than 150,000 rockets. Now, I've seen Hezbollah in action

going back to the 1990s. I was there for the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

This is an organization that is very well disciplined, very well trained, very well equipped and is very flexible in terms of its strategy. So the

problem is that if Israel is having -- we're eight months into the war in Gaza and Israel still has not subdued Hamas.

How it's going to subdue Hezbollah, given its strength, its support from Iran, its battlefield experience, leaves some questions about whether the

Israelis are going to be jumping from the frying pan into the Lebanese fire -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman on that story.

Let me bring in Jeremy, because, today, of course, is the Israeli holiday of Jerusalem Day, marking the conclusion of the 1967 war. And it is

ofttimes a flashpoint.

What is going on today?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Becky, Jerusalem Day is meant for Israelis, for them to celebrate what they view as the

reunification, in their view, of Jerusalem, the capture of Jerusalem by Israeli forces during the 1967 war.

But in recent years, it has, indeed, as you said, become a flashpoint for violence between many of these Israeli nationalists who descend on the

Muslim quarter of Jerusalem and the Palestinians who live here.

And we've already witnessed crowds of thousands of Israeli nationalists descending on this area right behind me, is that the entrance to the Muslim

quarter of East Jerusalem.

And we've already seen -- we were actually marching with crowds of several dozen, at least, Israelis, who were chanting in the streets of the Muslim

quarter, including things like, "may your village burn," talking about Arabs in a very derogatory fashion.

And we've also seen videos of scuffles breaking out at times between some of these Israelis who've descended and some of the Palestinians who live in

this area. The Israeli police is very aware of the extent to which this is a flashpoint.

They've sent 3,000 police officers to try and control the crowds here. But we've already witnessed, as I said, several scuffles up breaking out,

banging on the doors of shops of Palestinians in this area.

And you can see that more still beginning to arrive over my shoulder here as. And one of the things we're waiting to see is whether or not, for

example, a figure like the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right member of this current government, who came here last year,

whether he will make an appearance.

And then, of course, there's also always the possibility of a response from Hamas to these activities. You'll remember that, in 2021, it was violence

during these Jerusalem Day events that prompted Hamas to fire rockets, launching that war in 2021, between Israel and Hamas.

So as of now, Hamas has yet to fire any rockets in this direction. But it is obviously something that people in this area are very much on alert for

today.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Jeremy, thank you for that.

It's nine minutes past 10 in New York and we are waiting on the U.N. secretary general to give what is certainly flagged as a key speech on the

climate emergency. He's being warmed up, as it were, by Mike Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York and very minded of climate, the climate crisis.

[10:10:00]

And he is speaking just ahead of Mr. Guterres, who will address the gathered audience here at this event at the United Nations. We're going to

get to that very shortly.

Well, some major new asylum restrictions are now in effect at the southern U.S. border U.S. President Biden's executive order bars migrants who cross

over the border illegally from seeking asylum when the daily limit has been reached.

Now no asylum requests will be allowed once the daily number of encounters between illegal entry points reaches 2,500. Unaccompanied kids will be

exempt.

This is the same authority used by the Trump administration.

Well, this -- it wouldn't be an understatement to suggest that this is a hot-button political issue in the presidential race. CNN political -- CNN

politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson joining me now from Washington.

And forgive me, Stephen, if I do cut you off because we are going to get to Guterres.

But this is so important, I want to get as much done as possible. Polling from February showed Biden's lowest issue of approval rating was

immigration with, as I understand it, only 30 percent approving. Walk us through the timing and the politics of this.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This, as you say, Becky, is a very dicey political issue for the president, much as is his support

for Israel, which has split him between more moderate Democrats and his progressive base.

The issue here is that the crisis at the southern border, record arrivals of migrants, is becoming an issue that's increasingly concerning the

American public. And the public is moving toward the Right. And they're more open to harsh immigration enforcement measures than they were.

Donald Trump, as you say, is perfectly positioned here with his extreme right-wing and often even racist ideology on -- toward migrants. He's made

that the basis of his political campaign.

The president is very exposed on this. He needs to show he is addressing the crisis. This is coming just three weeks before the first presidential

debate.

What the president wants to do is to stand up and say to Trump, that, while Trump and Republicans have actually blocked quite conservative legislation

to fix the border, because they want this as an electoral issue, he is the one that's acting.

Biden doesn't have to win on immigration but he badly needs to fix some of his real -- some of the perception in the public that he has ignored this

crisis and he doesn't know how to handle it.

ANDERSON: I want to bring up a point that you made in your "Meanwhile in America" newsletter.

And folks, if you haven't signed up for that, do. I mean, it's a terrific newsletter and it'll come to your inbox as soon as you are signed up.

Stephen, you wrote, "If Biden wins November's election, it will probably be because he was able to cement the most disaffected liberal Democrats behind

him while appealing to moderates and dissenting Republicans, who reject Trump's extremism."

Is your point here that Biden is effectively putting his weight behind securing the moderate vote and trusting that that progressive camp is going

to show up for him, regardless?

Is that the conceit of your argument here?

COLLINSON: Yes. And I think this is also a question that runs through the Israel question. There's been a great deal of anger among progressive

voters, both over his immigration policies and over his support for the Israeli offensive in Gaza, notwithstanding his criticisms of prime minister

Benjamin Netanyahu.

The implicit question is, where else are these voters going to go?

Are they going to vote for Trump, who has used Nazi rhetoric by saying that immigrants poison in the blood of the United States, who called for a

Muslim ban early in his first presidency?

Or are they going to stick with Biden, despite their criticisms of him?

I think there's a belief among many Democrats that the concern about progressive voters deserting the president is overblown.

But these are big moral issues for Democrats and liberals and progressives. And it could be that they don't vote for Biden because of this, because of

this one issue. I don't think the problem is going to be for Democrats that some of these voters cross to vote for Trump.

The problem is if they don't show up to vote for Biden in states like Michigan, for example, Wisconsin. We could see the U.S. election, a

nationwide election decided by 20,000-30,000 votes in a couple of states, it doesn't take many of these disaffected voters to not vote for Biden for

them to effectively become a vote for Trump.

It's a razor-thin election. Every issue can make a difference.

[10:15:00]

And that's why the president has to address this because we're already in June. Some early voting, some mail-in voting starts as early as September,

even though Election Day is not until early November. So time is actually running out in this election, even though it seems like Election Day is a

long way away.

ANDERSON: A very good point, always good to have you.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

ANDERSON: Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

Well, we're hovering around two stories for you here, keeping you bang up- to-date on a big speech that is expected to be made imminently by the U.N. secretary general on the climate crisis, the climate emergency.

And happening now in Cape Canaveral in Florida, two veteran NASA astronauts strapped into Boeing's Starliner spacecraft as they prepare to make

history. If the launch is successful, this will be Boeing's maiden voyage with humans on board its new spacecraft.

The astronauts are on track for liftoff later this hour. Now this is the third attempt at launching them toward the International Space Station

after a technology glitch scrubbed the mission this weekend.

Right, let's get you keeping an eye on that for you. Also, as promised, I want to get you to New York and to the U.N. secretary-general.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: This marks 12 straight months of the hottest months ever. For the past year, every turn of the

calendar has turned up the heat. Our planet is trying to tell us something.

But we don't seem to be listening. Dear friends, the American Museum of Natural History is the ideal place to make the point. This great museum

tells the amazing story of our natural world, of the vast forces that have shaped life on Earth over billions of years.

And humanity is just one small blip on the radar. But like the meteoroids that wiped out the dinosaurs, we are having an outsized impact. In the case

of climate, we are not the dinosaurs. We are the meteor. We are not only endangered, we add the danger.

But we are also the solution. So dear friends, we are at the moment of truth. The truth is almost 10 years since the Paris agreement was adopted,

the target of limiting long-term global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is hanging by a thread.

The truth is the world is spewing emissions so fast that, by 2030, a far higher temperature rise will be all but guaranteed. Brand new data from

leading climate scientists released today show the remaining carbon budget to limit long-term warning to 1.5 degrees is now around $200 billion.

That is the maximum amount of carbon dioxide that the Earth's atmosphere can take if we are to have a fighting chance of staying within the limit.

And the truth, is, we are burning through the budget at reckless speed, spewing out around 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year.

We can all do the math. At this rate, the entire carbon budget will be busted before 2030. The truth is global emissions need to fall 9 percent

every year until 2030 to keep the 1.5 degree limit alive.

But they are heading in the wrong direction. Last year, they rose by 1 percent. The truth is, we already facing incursions into 1.5 degree

territory. The World Meteorological Organization reports today that there is an 8 percent chance the global annual average temperature will exceed

the 1.5 degrees limits in at least one of the next five years.

In 2015, the chance of such a breach was near zero. There is a 50-50 chance that the average temperature for the entire next five-year period will be

1.5 degrees higher than pre-industrial times. We are playing Russian roulette with our planet and we need an exit ramp off the highway to

climate hell.

[10:20:00]

And the truth is, we have control of the wheel. The 1.5 degree limit is still just about possible. And let's remember it's a limit for the long

term, measured over decades, not months or years. So stepping over this threshold, 1.5, for a short time does not mean the long-term goal is shot.

It means we need to fight harder now.

The truth is, the battle for 1.5 degrees will be won or lost in the 2020s and that the watch of leaders today. And all depends on the decisions those

leaders take or fail to take especially in the next 18 months.

It's climate crunch time. The need for action is unprecedented but so is the opportunity not just to deliver on climate but on economic prosperity

and sustainable development. Climate action cannot be captive to geopolitical divisions.

So as the world meets in Bonn for climate talks and gears up for the G7 and G20 summits, the United Nations General Assembly and COP29, we need maximum

ambition, maximum acceleration, maximum cooperation.

In a word, maximum action.

So dear friends, why all this fuss about 1.5 degrees?

Because our planet is a massive complex of connected systems. And every fraction of a degree of global heating counts. The difference between 1.5

and 2 degrees could be the difference between extinction and survival for some small island states and coastal communities.

The difference between minimizing climate areas or crossing dangerous tipping points; 1.5 degrees is not a target. It's not a goal. It's a

physical limit. Scientists have alerted us that temperatures rising higher would likely mean the collapse of the Greenland ice sheet and West

Antarctic ice sheets with catastrophic sea level rise.

The destruction of tropical coral reefs systems and livelihoods of 300 million people, the collapse of the Labrador sea currents that would

further disrupt weather patterns in Europe and widespread permafrost melts that would release devastating levels of methane, one of the most potent

heat trapping gases.

Even today we are pushing planetary boundaries to the brink, shattering global temperature records and reaping the whirlwind. And it is a travesty

of climate justice that those least responsible for the crisis are hardest hit.

The poorest people, the most vulnerable countries, indigenous peoples, women and girls. The richest 1 percent emit as much as two-thirds of

humanity. And the extreme events, turbo charged by climate chaos, are piling up, destroying lives, pummeling economy and hammering --

ANDERSON: You're listening to the U.N. secretary general, Antonio Guterres, delivering what is a dire climate change warning.

He said, and I quote, "We are playing Russian roulette with our planet. Climate action cannot be held captive," he said, "to geopolitical

decisions."

He said, "There is an unprecedented economic opportunity while solving climate change but we need maximum action and we need it now."

At the beginning of this speech, he delivered what is a very sobering truth, 12 months on the trot of extreme weather, the hottest months ever on

record. So we're going to do more on this. Stay with us. We'll be back after this.

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[10:25:00]

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ANDERSON: Israel is phasing out its use of what is a controversial detention center after a CNN investigation. Hundreds of Palestinian

detainees are being moved out of the camp in the Negev Desert and into a military facility in the occupied West Bank.

CNN learned about the transfers after a hearing on the facility, which came in response to a petition filed by an Israeli human rights group that drew

largely on CNN reporting. Last month, my colleague, Matthew Chance, talked to Israeli whistleblowers, former detainees and eyewitnesses, who had

described horrific conditions at the camp.

Here is part of Matthew's report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're driving now to meet one Israeli with personal experience of the Sde Teiman

facility.

It's experience that he says has left him shocked at the condition and the medical treatment of Palestinian detainees there.

CHANCE (voice-over): He told us he treated Palestinian detainees with gunshot wounds, fresh from the war zone in Gaza, but was appalled at the

lack of equipment and expertise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The problem is Gazans who are brought in are labeled as terrorists and it is very popular opinion over

here that terrorists deserve to die. So they do not deserve the same medical care as everyone else.

CHANCE (voice-over): Satellite imagery obtained by CNN shows how the Sde Teiman facility was expanded after the October 7th attacks, with detention

facilities and makeshift medical bays being added after public hospitals in Israel refused to treat injured Gazan suspects.

Eyewitness accounts described a field hospital with 15 to 20 patients, virtually naked and blindfolded, with hands and feet shackled to their beds

and wearing diapers.

One eyewitness told CNN painful procedures were carried out by underqualified medics, treatment, the medical worker told us, amounts to

punishment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That was the investigation by Matthew and his team. Matthew joins me now from London.

What happened at the hearing?

What happens to this facility now?

CHANCE: Well, I mean, look, at the moment the facility is being cleared out of the inmates that are inside it, hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza

have already been taken away from it and put into other facilities or released back into Gaza.

Another -- hundreds more are going to be released or transferred to other facilities over the coming -- over the coming weeks. And that's going to

leave about 200 people that are still incarcerated in this facility in southern Israel at Sde Teiman.

And the supreme court today in Israel, the court gave the Israeli authorities a few more days, until the 10th of this month, in fact, to

disclose what they intended to do with that remaining 200 people.

So we don't know yet whether this facility with this detention camp will be kept open in some way in the months ahead or whether it will be phased out

and completely shut down.

[10:30:00]

What we do know is that that report that you just saw a snippet of had an extraordinary impact around the world. The White House said it was deeply

concerned. The German government expressed its concern and called for an investigation.

The U.N. special rapporteur on torture did the same and there was even an internal Israeli military investigation that was announced, to look at

allegations of abuses at Sde Teiman and other detention centers as well.

And so it -- look, this is something that has become a rallying point in some ways for human rights activists inside Israel, not just external

critics of the country but inside Israel. There are growing numbers of people that are very uncomfortable with the way in which this war is being

conducted and prosecuted by the Israeli military.

And the court case that we saw today was an iteration of that. It was an example of human rights activists inside Israel, trying to hold their own

government to account.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Matt. Thank you.

We've been listening to the U.N.'s warning about the climate crisis in this past few minutes. Still ahead, a heat dome, scorching global temperatures

and more extreme weather events. We're going to take stock of what is the burgeoning climate crisis up next.

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ANDERSON: Welcome back, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.

Now we just saw the U.N. secretary general deliver an impassioned speech on the climate crisis. And today we've got a series of reports that speak to

that.

It is an alarming climate milestone. Last month was the hottest May on record, a trend that we have now seen every month for the past year.

Average temperatures are hitting 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre- industrial levels.

Now a reminder, many climate scientists -- and the secretary general spoke to this today -- believe that threshold is a tipping point for extreme

climate events. And there's a strong chance that this trend that we've seen will continue.

We're already seeing the impacts; 17 million Americans, for example, are under excessive heat warnings this week.

[10:35:04]

With more, CNN's climate chief -- our chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Across the American heartland came a conga line of devastating tornadoes, deadly

flooding from Brazil to Germany, a drought that has millions rationing water in Mexico City and temperatures close to 122 degrees in India.

Enough to kill at least 33 poll workers on the same day in recent national elections. All are snapshots from a planet overheated by human activity

where monthly heat records have been shattered for the last 12 months in a row.

WEIR: As somebody who has been studying sort of with intimate knowledge that the climate crisis all these years what, do you make of what's

happening around the world these days?

KIM COBB, DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY, BROWN UNIVERSITY: I mean, Bill, this is just a dizzying rate of change that

we're experiencing right now.

But in the near future, 2023 will register as a normal year; whereas, in fact, if you look at those graphs, all you can see is a vertical line

shooting upward from the very recent warmest years on record. So really just a record-smashing year in 2023.

GUTERRES: Let me be very clear again.

The phase out of the fossil fuels is essential and inevitable. No amount of speed or scam tactics will change that. Let's hope it doesn't come too

late.

WEIR (voice-over): While the head of the United Nations has been railing against polluters and petro states for years, he is using this report to

plead with world leaders to cut dirty fuels faster than ever, to kick in more for unfair loss and damage in developing countries and to ban all

advertising from oil, gas and coal companies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): If you could see the inside of your engine ...

We at Chevron believe that nothing is more precious than life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEIR: What do you make of the secretary-general's decision to really take new steps, to call for an end to fossil fuel advertising on television and

radio, to treat those ads the way you would for tobacco products?

LIZ BENTLEY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE PROFESSOR, ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY: Any policies that we can introduce at national level or even international

agreements to actually change the way we rely on fossil fuels are important.

So these actions, as you say, to treat fossil fuel adverts as if it would be -- we treat ban in conversations around tobacco or at least warning

signs, if you do smoke, these are the consequences.

We need to get, I think, more savvy to do that around greenhouse gas emissions as well.

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WEIR (voice-over): To avoid the worst, scientists say global emissions must fall 9 percent a year until 2030.

And while they still went up last year, it was only by 1 percent, thanks to a boom in clean wind and sunpower, a sign that humanity could finally be on

the verge of bending the carbon curve.

COBB: Yes, 1 percent is in the wrong direction but it's getting close to zero. And then it can start going into the negative territory. So, in fact,

we are predicted to have peak fossil fuel emissions within the next year or two, which is something I frankly never saw coming, even five years ago.

So that's real progress. And I think people need to really appreciate that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Right. Well, we all seeing the impacts of climate change playing out right now. As I said earlier, in the Western United States, a heat dome

in the desert Southwest is sending temperatures soaring above 110 degrees Fahrenheit in parts California, Arizona and Nevada. That is 43 degrees

Celsius. And we are not in the hottest part of the year yet, Death Valley in California will get even hotter, reaching 120 degrees.

(WEATHER REPORT)

[10:40:00]

ANDERSON: I'm here in the UAE and the Middle East warming faster than the rest of the world, according to a report released last year. Extreme heat

waves could make life impossible in areas like this. We are talking, according to forecasters, of temperatures of like 60 degrees by 2060.

Well, we are aware of how dire the situation is. I want to turn to those who are working on solutions, then; very specifically The Rockefeller

Foundation, investing $1 billion over the next five years as part of its Big Bets for Climate Action strategy.

Last week I caught up with the foundation's president about what he hopes to achieve.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAJIV SHAH, PRESIDENT, THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION: The climate crisis is going to be won or lost in developing and emerging economies around the

world.

If those economies choose a fossil fuel-based development pathway to lift up billions of people out of poverty, we will not make 2 degrees. We will

not make 1.5 degrees. We probably won't make 3 degrees.

If those economies, on the other hand, choose not to build out the 1,000- plus coal plants that are currently being constructed and instead switch to renewable electrification for their future, we have a chance of achieving

the Paris target.

ANDERSON: So what's the strategy?

SHAH: Right now our big bet, very simply, is investing in the renewable energy technology revolution to reach 1 billion people who are trapped in

one form or another of poverty because energy is too costly.

The strategy in that case is build alliances and bring people together to imagine a different future. We created the Global Energy Alliance for

People and Planet, crowded into about $10 plus billion of other people's resources, put in $500 million of our own.

And we've already invested in projects and programs that will reach 70 million out of that 1 billion people who live in energy poverty, with clean

renewable electrification.

ANDERSON: This needs an awful lot of money.

SHAH: This does.

ANDERSON: How do we unlock these capital flows?

How do we ensure that the private sector, the philanthropic capital, is alongside and supporting that of the public sector?

SHAH: This is going to cost -- most estimates are somewhere between $3 trillion and $4 trillion a year for the next several decades, about half of

that in the developing world.

So where will that capital come from?

Well, first it has to come from the public sector.

You need real public investment.

But the purpose that public investment isn't to build out renewable energy everywhere on the planet. It's to actually subsidize or blend with private

capital.

[10:45:00]

ANDERSON: Where do you see the key bottlenecks at present?

SHAH: The biggest bottleneck at present is the lack of true public private partnership and true concessional capital to make those investments happen

in this moment. Right now, in the post-COVID era, there's been a run-up in interest rates; 40-45 developing economies are teetering on the edge of a

debt crisis.

That's a tough environment in which to attract private capital without some blended finance. So we need new economic models and we need to reimagine

the role of major institutions like the World Bank, the African Development Bank.

We need to reimagine the role of sovereign wealth funds that have frankly gained trillions of dollars of wealth from the run-up in oil prices in just

the last few years. A lot of that wealth should be used in new, subsidized forms of capital investment, to bring renewable electrification to the rest

of the world.

ANDERSON: We've seen a model launched off the back of COP28 by the UAE, which is the Alterra climate investment vehicle, $30 billion to catalyze

some $250 billion.

Is that sort of model the sort of thing that we should be looking at going forward?

And if so, why?

SHAH: So yes, absolutely. And specifically, $5 billion of that $30 billion is being offered for developing and emerging economies at a concessional

rate. So they've essentially capped the nominal return at about 5 percent, which means you have a real return of roughly zero for that $5 billion.

That's the type of money that we need investing in developing economies for this climate transition to really lift up the billions of people that are

otherwise left behind.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Rajiv Shah speaking to me in New York, what was the Big Bets for Climate Action event that CNN was a partner of.

Up next, the anticipated launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. It is scheduled to lift off at 10:52 am local time in Florida. So we're just

about five-odd minutes or so away.

We've got experts, including a former NASA astronaut, for you to discuss everything as the excitement builds, stay with us.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

ANDERSON: Right, breaking news for you, a milestone a decade in the making. Any moment now, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, seen here on the

left, is set to blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Two NASA astronauts are on board. This is the third time that they have attempted

this launch.

[10:50:00]

If successful, this will be the Starliner's first ever spaceflight mission with a crew. The astronauts are headed to the International Space Station,

a journey that will take just over 24 hours. We are 00:02:30 and change.

Joining us to discuss this is CNN aerospace analyst Miles O'Brien and retired NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao.

Good to have you both.

Leroy, you've been in the situation where these two astronauts are now.

As we look at these images -- I'm hoping we can bring them up, there they are -- what's going through their minds?

LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Oh, they're hyper-focused at this point, like you say, just a couple of minutes to go. There's absolute

silence in the cockpit and in the control center, unless it's something of an operational nature.

And they're just wrapped up together, checking everything and just focused, very, very focused on what's about to happen.

ANDERSON: How big a deal is this, Miles?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AEROSPACE ANALYST: Yes, this is a big deal for sure. We're talking about the assured path to the International Space Station.

Now NASA originally decided to operate in a different way, to issue contracts to private companies, allow them to keep their intellectual

property and basically rent them out as they would an Uber or a Hertz Rent- A-Car.

And you saw what happened with SpaceX. They have been doing this now for years. They've flown about 15 individuals to the International Space

Station on its Dragon rocket.

And meanwhile, Boeing set out to build the Starliner and has had all kinds of delays and budget overruns to get to this point. The craft has been

beset with a lot of problems. The cost overruns in this case were something that Boeing had to absorb because of the nature of this contract.

But in the end, it's important to have a couple of ways to get to the space station in case one of the other craft has a problem.

ANDERSON: Understood.

Let's listen in then, chaps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two fifty. FTS internal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Flight software is in ascent mode, is now set for the uphill climb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I call (ph) meaning if the emergency detection system on Atlas detects something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The more range that plane green (ph).

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got a good job (ph) --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- started.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will trigger the launch abort system on Starliner and fire automatically.

Does that happen in the spacecraft with the fish (ph) itself away from the rocket mile up and (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was that flight (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good SRB burnout.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Centaur, light press (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 25.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Status check. Go Atlas. Go Centaur. Go Starliner. Got speed, Butch and Suni. Good handle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

[10:55:00]

Ignition and liftoff of Starliner.

ANDERSON: Leroy, what are we seeing here?

CHIAO: So the solid rocket boosters that were strapped on the side of the Atlas 5 rocket have just separated. And now the main engines continue to

burn and they will propel the Starliner in orbit.

And the mission is going perfectly so far, Atlas 5, very reliable rocket, has a perfect launch record. And so would expect this one to go perfectly

as well.

ANDERSON: This is the third time evolving (ph).

Tell us about the two astronauts on board.

CHIAO: Yes, so Butch and Suni have been waiting a long time for this. I know Suni very well. I know Butch well but not as well as Suni; Suni and I

trained together for a few years in Russia for a space station mission.

But they're both just the consummate professionals. They've been eager to get this flight going. And I'm very excited for them. But they're going to

have a great mission. And I think it's all going to just work out wonderfully.

ANDERSON: Yes, and remind us how long this rocket should take to get to the ISS at this point.

CHIAO: Right. So the spacecraft is going to go into orbit here very shortly. And it'll adjust its orbit slowly over the next 24 hours to match

that of the International Space Station before they approach and dock to the station.

So in approximately 24 hours, we'll see a docking. And the crew will be able to enter the ISS and greet those on board.

ANDERSON: It's wonderful having you, Leroy. Let me bring Miles back in.

I know Miles, I mean, this is sort of boys' own stuff, isn't it?

This is the stuff that dreams are made of. You were describing just ahead of liftoff how the sort of model of space travel is changed. It is being

privatized. And Boeing, alongside Elon Musk, of course, one of the companies taking advantage of that opportunity.

Now just walk us through, from your viewpoint, what we've just seen.

And what happens next?

Why this is significant, why today makes sense.

O'BRIEN: Well, let's not forget what happened when the space shuttle was retired many years ago. The United States had a long period of time, a long

multiyear period, where its only way of getting astronauts to the International Space Station was to avail ourselves of Russian rockets --

which Leroy has flown on.

Launching from Kazakhstan, returning to Kazakhstan. And that was a scenario that no one at NASA wanted. But it worked to fill the gap.

But in the meantime, NASA was pushing very hard to sort of get out of the business of building rockets. Now NASA has never built its own rocket. It's

always used contractors.

But the way they did those contracts were very cost-plus defense-style contracts with a lot of NASA people involved in every step of the way, very

bespoke, very expensive way to get to space.

And so the idea was, if private companies could get on board and do this, it might become much more affordable. And it would give NASA the ability to

focus on things like going to Mars.

Well, it's paid off in the case of SpaceX. It took a while but now we see SpaceX as the preeminent space enterprise. And it's had frequent missions

to the International Space Station, aims to go further.

And meanwhile, Boeing, which was at the very beginning of the space program, it's one of the companies that -- it began with McDonnell Douglas,

built the Mercury capsules after all, sort of a preeminent name in space. And is the prime contractor for the space station after all.

Boeing had all kinds of misstarts trying to operate with this new kind of way of doing business. It was hard for the elephant to dance, in this case.

And so there's been a lot of problems along the way.

I'm gratified to see it get off the pad. Butch and Suni are courageous astronauts on a test flight. Anytime you fly a first flight, anytime you go

to space, it's risky. But this in particular is a risky mission. And it's important, though, to have a couple of paths to space. We don't want that

gap again.

ANDERSON: Well, we wish them the best. It's always a pleasure, Miles, having you on the show.

And Leroy -- yes, Leroy, having you on the show again -- I can hear myself coming back here -- is a real joy. Thank you.

CNN's special coverage continues with my colleague, Rahel Solomon

END