:00:06. > :00:16.John Kerry. The last talks were back in September 2010. Now it is time
:00:16. > :00:23.
:00:23. > :00:25.for HARDtalk. HARDtalk is on the road in the far west of Alaska,
:00:25. > :00:28.America's frontier state. The fishing community here, big business
:00:28. > :00:30.and the US federal government, all of them are locked in a bitter
:00:30. > :00:40.argument over environmental sustainability and resource
:00:40. > :00:44.
:00:44. > :00:49.exploitation. It is the corner of our planet that is suffering the
:00:49. > :00:56.most dramatic effects of climate change. The climate economy that
:00:56. > :01:01.made Alaska reach, now threatens it delicate ecosystem. It presents
:01:01. > :01:11.America with a challenge. Is it ready to get serious about climate
:01:11. > :01:20.
:01:20. > :01:28.change. A tiny Inuit settlement in the far north-west of Alaska. Is
:01:28. > :01:33.clinging to a narrow spit of sand on the edge of the Bering Sea. This
:01:33. > :01:39.community is home to 400 indigenous people whose lives depend on hunting
:01:39. > :01:47.and fishing. These waters have sustained them for generations.
:01:47. > :01:53.Now, the dramatic one of the retreat of the sea ice has left them with --
:01:53. > :01:57.cruelly exposed. Thick sea ice used to protect them from the worst
:01:58. > :02:03.effects of coastal erosion but not any more. In recent years, the
:02:03. > :02:06.village has faced the threat of being washed away which is why the
:02:06. > :02:13.US Army Corps of engineers have built this defensive wall of rocks
:02:13. > :02:18.to keep the sea at bay. But it is only a temporary solution. The
:02:18. > :02:27.engineers themselves believe that the town could be uninhabitable --
:02:27. > :02:30.an inhabitable -- uninhabitable within a decade. Coastal erosion
:02:30. > :02:35.have left a handful of Inuit settlements facing imminent
:02:35. > :02:40.destruction and dozens more at serious risk. These villages are
:02:40. > :02:46.desperate -- destined to be America's first climate change
:02:46. > :02:52.refugees. Relocating them to higher ground would cost several hundred
:02:52. > :02:59.million dollars. Community leaders in the village responded to their
:02:59. > :03:03.plight by suing a host of big oil companies. They claim that they
:03:03. > :03:11.conspired to downplay the link between climate change and carbon
:03:11. > :03:15.emissions. The case was rejected. When you heard that the US Supreme
:03:15. > :03:25.Court was not prepared to hear your case, how did you feel?
:03:25. > :03:27.
:03:27. > :03:31.surprised. We failed in court but I think we have gotten, hopefully, the
:03:31. > :03:38.attention of a lot of people who need to be paying attention.
:03:38. > :03:46.Everyone is impacted. It is not just us, it is everyone. Do you feel that
:03:46. > :03:52.your voices are heard in Washington? That the US government now see is
:03:52. > :04:00.what you are going through as something they have to care about?
:04:00. > :04:06.They listen to what you have to say... But they never take any real
:04:06. > :04:16.action. They will put a Band-Aid on the situation, that is what all
:04:16. > :04:17.
:04:17. > :04:23.disaster responses are, Band-Aids. For now, it is a community in limbo.
:04:23. > :04:28.Clinging to tradition but with little to offer the next generation.
:04:28. > :04:37.Unemployment and alcoholism and other social problems are rife.
:04:37. > :04:44.Young people have little choice but to leave. Beyond the sound, there
:04:44. > :04:51.are no roads, just a vast expanse of Alaska is Arctic tundra. At the most
:04:51. > :04:58.northerly tip of the state, the town of Barrow. Much closer to the North
:04:58. > :05:06.Pole than Washington, DC. This is America is very own climate change
:05:06. > :05:11.front line. This year, the sea ice has been so thin and unstable that
:05:11. > :05:19.the whale hunters could not cross it to get to open water. The hunting
:05:19. > :05:28.season was ruined. For the first time in decades, not a single whale
:05:28. > :05:36.was caught from Barrow. The whaling captain has been left hunting for
:05:36. > :05:41.seal just offshore. Compare now to when you were a young boy, in terms
:05:41. > :05:51.of the way the ice works and what you see, comparing it to 40 years
:05:51. > :06:00.
:06:00. > :06:06.about eight, ten feet deep -- ten feet thick. Today, when it starts
:06:06. > :06:13.freezing it is only about one foot. It is more dangerous for the younger
:06:13. > :06:19.generation who do not know the ice yet. They are trying to learn.
:06:19. > :06:24.is the impact on you and your family, your community? As a people
:06:24. > :06:31.we have always depended on the whale for meat and the skin on the blog.
:06:32. > :06:38.It feeds us for the whole year round. No whale means a tough year?
:06:38. > :06:45.It will be a very cold winter. scientists say that this is going to
:06:45. > :06:48.get worse. That the ice is going to melt on a much larger scale, that is
:06:48. > :06:53.going to become more mobile and there is going to be less of it.
:06:53. > :06:59.What do you think the prospects are of your prospects and your life in
:06:59. > :07:04.the future? We will have to change a hunting tactics, we will have to be
:07:04. > :07:13.more careful when we are out on the ice in the springtime. It is going
:07:13. > :07:18.to be very hard to come from the ice in the future? Yes. Yes very.It is
:07:18. > :07:23.known as the Arctic 's science city, a base for researchers
:07:23. > :07:33.studying the effects of climate change. Out on the tundra, the thick
:07:33. > :07:36.
:07:36. > :07:41.layer of permafrost is boring -- flooring --... Is releasing a thick
:07:41. > :07:49.layer of methane. The layer of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
:07:49. > :07:54.could double increasing the warming trend. Out at sea, the Arctic ice is
:07:54. > :08:03.retreating at a dramatic pace. As less of the sun 's energy is
:08:03. > :08:08.reflected, more is absorbed in the water. In and around the town the
:08:08. > :08:14.warming trend is driving rapid change. As DCIS melts, it becomes
:08:14. > :08:19.harder for the polar bears to hunt offshore. Hungry bears now stuck on
:08:19. > :08:27.land scavenge for food ever closer to humans. It is dangerous for both
:08:27. > :08:34.men and there. Visitors venturing out of town are now required to
:08:34. > :08:44.travel with an arm to bear died. I had eased out of Barrow on and all
:08:44. > :08:44.
:08:44. > :08:54.the rain vehicle. -- armed bear guard. It is my last chance to drive
:08:54. > :08:58.
:08:58. > :09:06.across the sea ice without falling through. Scientists are constantly
:09:06. > :09:09.-- constantly monitoring the thickness of the Arctic ice cover.
:09:09. > :09:18.The results of the work showed that the ice is getting thinner and
:09:18. > :09:25.younger. Ice that last for more than three or four years is now a rarity.
:09:26. > :09:31.The total volume of ice has fallen by more than 50% in a generation.
:09:31. > :09:37.Some scientists now talk about the death spiral of the Arctic ice.
:09:37. > :09:45.Welcome to HARDtalk. Explain to me why it is such a big problem that
:09:45. > :09:51.the ice is disappearing. The polls cool the planet. As we lose the
:09:51. > :09:58.ice, the ability to cool the planet decreases. All the surface that we
:09:58. > :10:06.can see here is reflecting the sun back out, it is cooling the planet.
:10:06. > :10:10.You can think about a glass of water with ice cubes in it. That glass of
:10:10. > :10:15.water is going to stakeholder until all that ice is gone. The minute
:10:15. > :10:19.that ice is gone it can really start heating up. If you take that analogy
:10:19. > :10:23.to the whole planet, you have a planet with ice at the polls, we are
:10:24. > :10:31.heating up that planet at the ice is offering that heat. When the ice is
:10:31. > :10:36.gone, global warming is going to have a greater toll. Scientists
:10:36. > :10:44.claim that the ice in the Arctic, on the waters of the Arctic will be
:10:44. > :10:54.completely gone in summer I2030. anything I would say the models are
:10:54. > :11:01.very conservative. I am still in that 2030 came but if I saw it go
:11:01. > :11:05.sooner I would not be surprised. is the most visual indicator of the
:11:05. > :11:12.massive change that is coming to the Arctic but it is not all about the
:11:12. > :11:20.ice, is it? If you look inland there are very important changes to.
:11:20. > :11:26.active layer of the permafrost is getting larger, that exposes a whole
:11:26. > :11:34.set of other problems that we only just realising. Potentially, the
:11:34. > :11:41.release of this carbon dioxide, it is almost equivalent to the amount
:11:41. > :11:48.of carbon dioxide in fossil fuels. In terms of the climate impact,
:11:48. > :11:54.things could warm up almost twice as fast. You seem to be giving everyone
:11:55. > :12:01.watching us to have reasons to be alarmed. We can justify these
:12:01. > :12:11.numbers scientifically, we can be rejected -- objective when we tried
:12:11. > :12:11.
:12:11. > :12:21.to report it and yet they are scary numbers. Alaska 's role in the
:12:21. > :12:28.climate story is about cause as well as a fact. -- effect. As America
:12:28. > :12:36.warms it continues to be a vital source as a cut -- source of vital
:12:36. > :12:44.carbon fuels. Alaska's North Slope is a -- America is great as oil
:12:44. > :12:54.reserves. As the oil runs out, America is desperate to tap new
:12:54. > :12:54.
:12:54. > :12:56.sources of foreign oil. Offshore, the company Shell has begun
:12:56. > :13:03.exploratory drilling despite a chorus of protest from environmental
:13:03. > :13:10.groups. Those concerns grew louder when a rig ran aground off the
:13:11. > :13:18.Alaskan coast. Operations are currently suspended. The prize is
:13:18. > :13:26.too valuable to ignore, 13% of the world undiscovered oil and 30% of
:13:26. > :13:33.natural gas assets asked thought to lie with in the Arctic Circle. Look
:13:33. > :13:37.too HARDtalk. If you'll state of Alaska was a nation it would be one
:13:37. > :13:44.of the most oil dependent in economic terms in the whole of the
:13:44. > :13:51.world. Do you think that is sustainable? Americans consume 19
:13:51. > :13:56.barrels of oil per day. The forecast for that supply and demand is in the
:13:56. > :14:00.20 million barrels per day for the next 30 to 40 years. Where do you
:14:00. > :14:05.want that oil coming from? Do you want it coming from a state like
:14:05. > :14:11.Alaska where we take care of our environment, we comply with very
:14:11. > :14:21.stringent environmental standards... With respect, your
:14:21. > :14:26.
:14:26. > :14:29.industry does not have the greatest track record. Am thinking about what
:14:29. > :14:36.is happening right now. They have been a whole series of incidents
:14:36. > :14:41.occurring. A rig has run aground, the operation has been forced. The
:14:41. > :14:47.federal agencies say they are not fully prepared for the operations
:14:47. > :14:55.they have undertaken. The reality is there a 27 billion barrels of oil in
:14:55. > :15:05.the sea. And they should probably stay there. I disagree. We have
:15:05. > :15:05.
:15:05. > :15:11.safely drilled 30 wells in the Arctic. It can be done. I am
:15:11. > :15:15.confident it will be done. I am confident it will be done safely.
:15:15. > :15:21.Even the boss of another oil company in France has looked at the Arctic
:15:21. > :15:26.and said the risks are too big, a spill would do too much damage.
:15:26. > :15:31.Arctic is going to be developed. Who do we want in the lead? Do we want a
:15:31. > :15:35.country like Russia, who doesn't have the same type of environmental
:15:35. > :15:41.standards to be the first to develop Arctic oil? Body wanted to be the
:15:41. > :15:46.US? The indigenous peoples in Alaska are making a link between the
:15:46. > :15:52.production of fossil fuels in this state and the dramatic climate
:15:52. > :15:58.change that is affecting their entire way of life. CU in the oil
:15:58. > :16:01.and gas Association except that now, climate change is so serious
:16:01. > :16:08.that he will have the factory team to your strategic vision for the
:16:08. > :16:14.future? I think the oil and gas industry understands that we are in
:16:14. > :16:19.an ever-changing climate. We have to adapt. We are the leaders in
:16:19. > :16:25.technology to do just that. Do you accept that Alaska's climate is
:16:25. > :16:29.dangerously warming? I do not accept that. If you look at the data, it is
:16:29. > :16:35.not changing any different. Our temperature changes are not
:16:35. > :16:41.dramatically different than what they were. Look at the data from the
:16:41. > :16:50.past 25 years. Alaska is warming twice as fast as the average across
:16:50. > :16:56.the lower 48 states. I think if you look at longer term data, that is a
:16:56. > :17:02.short snapshot in time. Look at the trend, talk to scientists out there
:17:02. > :17:10.on the ice. They say it is likely that the Arctic will be ice free in
:17:10. > :17:15.the summer by 2030. What do those scientists say? Is it industry's
:17:15. > :17:20.fault really just a natural climate change? See you do not believe in
:17:20. > :17:28.man-made climate change? I believe it is a factor, but I do not believe
:17:28. > :17:30.it is the sole leading factor. think this idea of man-made climate
:17:30. > :17:37.change and its association with fossil fuels and the burning of
:17:37. > :17:44.carbon is a myth? I did not say that. If it is not a myth...What I
:17:44. > :17:54.did say was, as the climate changes, as it changes, we adapt to those
:17:54. > :17:55.
:17:55. > :18:04.changes. There are a few more potent symbols of dramatic climate change
:18:04. > :18:08.in Alaska than this glacier, far south of the Arctic Circle. This
:18:08. > :18:14.visitor 's centre was opened in 1986 as a viewing platform from which to
:18:14. > :18:21.see the glacier spilled into the lake. 37 years on, it is no longer
:18:21. > :18:30.visible. It has receded back around the corner, and continues to shrink.
:18:30. > :18:35.The dramatic retreat of this glacier has become a symbol of the speed and
:18:35. > :18:41.scale of Alaska's warming. For many years, it was something this
:18:41. > :18:51.state's politicians, and the nation, wanted to ignore. For now, that is
:18:51. > :19:01.not an option. In June, President Obama pledged significant action,
:19:01. > :19:01.
:19:01. > :19:06.not just words, to combat climate change. I refuse to condemn your
:19:06. > :19:15.generation and future generations to our planet beyond fixing. That is
:19:15. > :19:22.why today I am announcing a new national climate action plan. I am
:19:22. > :19:28.here to enlist your help in keeping the US a leader, a global leader, in
:19:29. > :19:32.the fight against climate change. A low carbon, clean energy economy can
:19:32. > :19:42.be an engine of growth for decades to come. I want America to build
:19:42. > :19:47.
:19:48. > :19:51.that engine, I want America to build that future. In Anchorage, the
:19:51. > :19:57.president's words were met with little more than a shrug. This city,
:19:57. > :20:04.this state, owes its existence to oil. Revenues from the industry make
:20:04. > :20:09.up more than 90% of the State budget. The oil riches mean the
:20:09. > :20:16.state does not impose any income tax. Every Alaskan gets an annual
:20:16. > :20:21.pay-out of around $1000. When it comes to balancing two conflicting
:20:22. > :20:26.pressures, a rapidly changing climate and the demands to expand
:20:26. > :20:31.the state's carbon fuelled economy on the other, their reasonable doubt
:20:31. > :20:39.what the prayer Richie is. Federal government knew that Alaska
:20:39. > :20:44.would have a hard time was it had a solid resource base to work. This
:20:44. > :20:50.man, from Alaska's Department of natural resources, says the state
:20:50. > :20:56.has no choice but to exploit the riches within. Welcome to HARDtalk.
:20:56. > :21:02.The reason an inevitable tension between the desire to exploit
:21:02. > :21:07.Alaska's immense natural resources and the desire to conserve this
:21:07. > :21:16.unique wilderness. You think the state of Alaska has got the balance
:21:16. > :21:23.right? The exploitation, we refer to it as resource development, is
:21:23. > :21:27.crucial to the economy. It is the only thing we have here. So when the
:21:27. > :21:35.oil industry says, we need the right to exploit the waters off the North
:21:35. > :21:38.Coast in a new offshore field, you have to say yes, do you? No. We only
:21:39. > :21:46.say yes if they can show they can do it in a responsible manner. The bar
:21:46. > :21:51.keeps getting higher. But the truth is, he do say yes? We do say yes.
:21:51. > :21:57.There has not been a project you have said no to. We have said no.
:21:57. > :22:07.Some areas are often limits. predominant mindset seems to be that
:22:07. > :22:12.it was the mantra of the Republican Party to drill. We need oil and gas
:22:12. > :22:15.exploration for the economy. We have enough resources to last for many
:22:15. > :22:19.generations to come. We have developed a permanent fund to
:22:19. > :22:26.capture some of that so that eventually it will help in the
:22:26. > :22:29.future. We are in the Department of natural resources. I am interested
:22:29. > :22:34.in the people of the top of this department like yourself are now
:22:34. > :22:39.seeing to yourselves, man-made climate change is a real issue and
:22:39. > :22:46.we have the factory team to the calculations we make -- we have two
:22:46. > :22:50.fact all it in. How would you propose that happens? People bring
:22:50. > :22:59.that up a lot, that when you are managing natural resources to
:22:59. > :23:03.provide for the people, how do you draw a line and say, we only want to
:23:03. > :23:07.develop this much oil, because we think that will contribute this much
:23:07. > :23:11.to climate change, and if we contribute any more, it will
:23:11. > :23:20.contribute more to climate change. That is an impossible determination
:23:20. > :23:27.to make. If I were sitting here with a group of indigenous peoples, where
:23:27. > :23:30.they see that their village, right on the water, is being eroded away
:23:30. > :23:37.because the sea ice is melting and the storms are much more ferocious,
:23:37. > :23:40.would you say to them, the fact that climate change is affecting you is
:23:40. > :23:45.not going to be factored into our determination to exploit our
:23:45. > :23:52.resources? You have got to ask them if they would rather ask shut down
:23:52. > :24:02.the pipeline and stop development. Will that help the situation? It
:24:02. > :24:02.
:24:02. > :24:07.will make the light off in their village. -- turn off. Within a
:24:07. > :24:12.generation, the Arctic Ocean may be ice free in the summer. This region
:24:12. > :24:16.is warming faster than any other on earth. That in turn they encourage
:24:16. > :24:24.more exploitation in Alaska, more carbon emissions, adding to the