CNN climate alarmist Bill Weir joined At This Hour guest host Boris Sanchez to discuss the latest U.N. report calling climate change "code red for humanity." Weir sounded pessimistic about governments' willingness to do anything about it, but in an attempt to find some optimism hyped lawsuits by children amidst "the social license to go drilling for oil."
Weir began by declaring, "this is the sixth of these, chapter six of these warning reports, Boris. And the pledges that were made at the Paris Accords, no country virtually is meeting them yet and they're supposed to try to go to Glasgow in a couple of months an up the ante and say we’re going to do even more."
He lamented that here in the U.S. even "just trying to do some modest things becomes a partisan fight." But, Weir added, there is potentially good news, if politicians won't save the planet, maybe children and the courts will:
But what you're seeing a lot of action in and may dictate how things go is in the courts. The so-called climate kids suing for the right to a livable planet, or who’s accountable for this. Can you use sort of forensics of tying weather events to climate change and then oil and gas company for their part in that? That is what is maybe the next chapter and reports like this which is the definitive state of the science will go to both judges, juries, and policymakers.
Weir was referring to a worldwide movement of children suing their government for not doing enough to battle climate change, but here in the U.S. their lawsuit demanding the phasing out of fossil fuels was dismissed because it would have given far too much lawmaking power to judges. An Obama appointee, who was sympathetic to the kids' argument, wrote the majority opinion.
Sanchez then asked Weir if China was doing enough to battle climate change. Weir, the man who never misses an opportunity to say Republicans are destroying the planet, proceeded to make excuses for China's record, "They have so many mouths to feed and people lifting into the middle class. So they're putting more coal on line than the rest of the world but also leading the world in solar and trying to have it all. They're also a race for natural resources out there."
For Weir, the real problem is not China's coal usage, but the idea that, "Right now we're dealing with the social license to go drilling for oil these days. When we know what it is doing to us. How long will companies have that social license. We stopped burning whales for light at a certain point. How soon that moment happens may determine a lot."
According to Weir, some kid suing the government with a list of unconstitutional demands is more important in the fight against climate change than calling out China. This is CNN.
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Here is a transcript for the August 9 show:
CNN
At This Hour with Kate Bolduan
11:19 AM ET
BILL WEIR: We'll see. But again this is the sixth of these, chapter six of these warning reports, Boris. And the pledges that were made at the Paris Accords, no country virtually is meeting them yet and they're supposed to try to go to Glasgow in a couple of months an up the ante and say we’re going to do even more. Politics gets in the way, I think in the United States, obviously, you see what’s happening just with an infrastructure bill. Just trying to do some modest things becomes a partisan fight. But what you're seeing a lot of action in and may dictate how things go is in the courts. The so-called climate kids suing for the right to a livable planet, or who’s accountable for this. Can you use sort of forensics of tying weather events to climate change and then oil and gas company for their part in that? That is what is maybe the next chapter and reports like this which is the definitive state of the science will go to both judges, juries, and policymakers.
BORIS SANCHEZ: And Bill, the Biden administration outlined that the climate crisis would be a big priority. Obviously, there is plenty that the United States could do to help this effort, but ultimately it is a global issue. Are you seeing enough from other major players like China to make a difference? It doesn't sound like it?
WEIR: Well, China is trying to have it all. They have so many mouths to feed and people lifting into the middle class. So they're putting more coal on line than the rest of the world but also leading the world in solar and trying to have it all. They're also a race for natural resources out there. Right now we're dealing with the social license to go drilling for oil these days. When we know what it is doing to us. How long will companies have that social license. We stopped burning whales for light at a certain point. How soon that moment happens may determine a lot.
