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Melissa Harris-Perry: It's The Takeaway. I'm Melissa Harris-Perry and I'm here with you today from Seattle. Sending a little love to member station KUOW. Now this was a very good weekend for Democrats. Senator Katherine Cortez Masto, the nation's first Latina senator, secured reelection by a narrow margin in Nevada. Cortez Masto's victory gives Democrats 50 Senate seats with a tiebreaking vice presidential vote. This means that no matter the final outcome of Georgia's runoff election early next month, Democrats will enjoy control of the US Senate for the next two years. On Sunday, the senator acknowledged the work of organizers who carried her to victory.

Senator Katherine Cortez Masto: I am so grateful to every volunteer who knocked on doors, who made phone calls, who wrote postcards and letters, and who had the courage to publicly stand up and fight for our state.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Now, as of Monday morning, control of the House was still uncertain but with the Senate secured, President Biden has a real opportunity to pursue a substantive political agenda and if the next two years mirror the first two, this could signal meaningful progress on climate change.

President Biden: Over the past two years, the United States has delivered unprecedented progress at home and this summer, the United States Congress passed and I signed the law of my proposal for the biggest most important climate bill in the history of our country. The Inflation Reduction Act.

Melissa Harris-Perry: You were listening there to President Biden on Friday as he addressed the annual Climate Conference COP27, meeting this year in Egypt last week, the UN Secretary General opened the summit with a dire warning.

UN Secretary General: We are in the fight of our lives and we are losing greenhouse gas emissions keep growing, global temperatures keep rising, and our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible. We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.

Melissa Harris-Perry: While President Biden's Friday remarks outlined US commitments to cutting methane and carbon emissions, he stopped short of committing any resources for a global loss and damages fund due to the US role as the world's second-largest producer of greenhouse gasses. At last year's conference in Scotland, countries recommitted to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to limit the rise of global temperatures to two degrees celsius but despite these promises, the world is still not on track to meet that goal. Even in this year, the earth's rising temperatures have fueled extreme weather events.

It's poor nations in the global south that bear a disproportionate share of the climate burden and this year some of those nations have intensified demands for wealthier nations to pay climate reparations. Here's the Prime Minister of the Caribbean Nation and Antigua and Barbuda.

Gaston Browne: In the first half of this year, six fossil fuel companies, and I emphasize six, made more than enough money to cover the cost of major climate damages in developing countries with nearly $70 billion in profits. It is about time that these companies are made to pay a global carbon tax on your profits as a source of funding for loss and damage. While they are profiting the planet is burning.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Joining us from Egypt and from COP27 Summit is Jean Su, Energy Justice Director at the Center for Biological Diversity and co-author of the report the Climate President's Emergency Powers. She's also co-chair of Climate Action Network International. Jean, welcome to The Takeaway.

Jean Su: Thanks for having me, Melissa.

Melissa Harris-Perry: What is this loss and damages fund that countries in the global south are asking for?

Jean Su: Loss and damage is a part of the Paris Agreement and it refers to the really horrendous losses and damages that we've seen global south countries experience. I'm sitting here in Egypt in the heart of the continent of Africa, which is ground zero for climate disasters. Nigeria, this year, actually just a month ago, suffered record flooding along with record heat waves and drought-driven famines across the continent of Africa. What all this is is the countries and the people who have actually caused the least amount of carbon emissions are suffering and bearing the brunt of the most disastrous climate impacts.

The idea of loss and damage is to compensate these countries and these communities that have suffered so greatly from a crisis they barely have caused and the call here is really for the United States and other rich nations and huge carbon-emitting countries to pay up and compensate and be liable for the type of climate damages that they have caused the rest of the world.

Melissa Harris-Perry: At the top of the list of climate change causers is China and the US, right? With US emissions ticking down a bit, but still, we're far and away number two. Is that right?

Jean Su: Absolutely. The US and China are the two biggest polluters, but the US in particular is the number one historic polluter. It actually has made up 25% of the carbon emissions in our atmosphere. The United States has an outsized debt that it owes the world and advocates here, whether it be delegates from [unintelligible 00:05:53] or other low-lying states to folks in Africa, to NGOs all across the world seeking justice. Everyone is asking and urging the United States to step up and actually fulfill the tremendous climate debt that they owe the rest of the world.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Based on what you heard from the president and from others in the US delegation there, what is your sense of the likelihood that the US will make meaningful contributions into a loss and damages fund?

Jean Su: That is the golden question of this COP. In many ways, this is a COP about loss and damage and the US's particular role in it. Unfortunately, we've seen the US be a major obstructor to loss and damage probably because it is one of the most liable countries in the world for it. It has played, unfortunately, a historical blocker role in moving forward on this. The tremendous outcome already of the first week is that we're seeing loss and damage actually being put on this COP agenda for the first time and that really is a testament to all the low-lying states and the vulnerable countries and NGOs that have been pushing so hard for justice to be heard on this global level.

It's good news that loss and damage is on the agenda but really we have to see what action takes place and all eyes are particularly on Secretary Kerry in the United States this week to see whether they will commit to some type of decision on loss and damage.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Speaking of commitments last year, a country who's pledged to curb greenhouse gasses, where do we stand? The UN general secretary is pretty clear in that image of where we are headed as a planet.

Jean Su: Well, we've had a couple of very dire reports come out a few weeks ago. They say that our commitments are so woefully inadequate that we're on a world that is closing towards three degrees, which scientists say means it's game over for the continent of Africa, and it is total flooding of low-lying states. That really means mass migration. It means obvious deaths, it means drought-driven famines, and it really means this dystopic world where we will be seeing civil wars, civil unrest, and really ecosystems that are breaking apart before our eyes. There is one species an hour that disappears right now on planet Earth, and all of this is just the tip of the iceberg of what we'd expect for a three-degree world.

Melissa Harris-Perry: I'm wondering, given the outcome of the midterms with Republicans and Democrats really close in the house and with Democrats maintaining control in the US Senate, will the President really have an opportunity to move forward on a climate agenda?

Jean Su: Absolutely. One of the good pieces of news in the United States is that President Biden unilaterally holds tremendous presidential powers to act boldly on climate. That actually is the case with or without Congress. Congress gave him powers that he can lawfully use right now to declare a climate emergency and phase out fossil fuels. He has the ability to actually tackle the root of the crisis in the United States. Unfortunately, we've seen President Biden go the opposite direction. He is approving more oil and gas drilling projects than Trump has and the recent Inflation Reduction Act, our climate law actually legislates in dangerous drilling in the Arctic and in the Gulf of Mexico.

We've actually gone backwards in terms of getting off our fossil fuel addiction and so the number one thing that President Biden can do without Congress is tackle that fossil fuel program, reject all new fossil fuel projects and phase out our existing addiction on fossil fuels.

Melissa Harris-Perry: That's hard to hear you say that, knowing how much the question of gas prices became a political talking point as well as a household pain point. Yes, the midterms are over, but now we're heading towards the general election. Is there any real possibility that the President's administration will back off of this opening oil reserves, more drilling conversation?

Jean Su: I think so. What is happening with all of our inflation, many of the issues really boil down to the oil and gas industry price gouging the public. These are factors that are totally within control of the oil and gas industry. The number one thing that we can do to actually stop this volatility and how vulnerable we are to oil and gas price volatility is getting off oil and gas. There are tremendous ways that we can phase out and smartly do that. We don't need to turn off the spigot tomorrow. We need to be extremely strategic, but also very intentional that we cannot start new oil and gas. The world scientists have been absolutely crystal clear that if we want to maintain a world that is livable and get to 1.5 degrees, we cannot have any new oil and gas

Melissa Harris-Perry: Every time we get together in a Takeaway meeting and talk about doing a segment, a conversation about climate it is, and the only words I can think here are comically depressing. Really we start talking about the earth is burning and what will this conversation be about? Help us, is there anything substantively good coming out of this summit?

Jean Su: One equally heartbreaking but inspirational note of this COP as well is in a lot of ways we have seen human rights and climate justice really solidify in this COP. As people, I hope, know, Egypt has committed severe human rights abuses. One of those cases is of Alaa Abd-El Fattah who in many ways is being coined, the name of this COP it is Alaa's COP. He is one of the Arab Springs most prominent political prisoners, and he is here in Egypt right now. His sister has come to the COP and has really put to the forefront how human rights is such a vital issue that climate activists and climate justice needs to walk in solidarity with.

One of the most incredible things that have has happened is, in a lot of ways I think Egypt has tried to show and wash over their human rights record, but civil society, even senators the United States and delegates from all over the world have actually raised up Alaa and raised up this human rights issue and have actually urged for his release and for the savior of his life and all the political prisoners of conscience in this country. It culminated in an incredibly beautiful and moving powerful march here where climate justice activists, youth activists, women and gender activists, and indigenous women labor activists, they all came together to stand in solidarity with Alaa's family.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Jean Su is the Energy Justice Director at the Center for Biological Diversity and Co-author of the report, Climate President's Emergency Powers. She's also co-chair of Climate Action Network International. Jean, thanks for joining us.

Jean Su: Thanks, Melissa.

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