[Richard Quest, Cnn International Anchor:] A climate for change, world leaders call for action, but is it just hot air? Going for the clean green flying machine, fresh promises from those magnificent men in aviation. And tonight, the return of an old friend with some new faces, yes, "JobQuest" is back. I'm Richard Quest, you're very welcome, because I mean business. Good evening. A call for action, global climate change in the spotlight. E.U. President Jose Manuel Barroso warns that if it isn't sorted out, then Copenhagen's draft text will be the longest suicide note in history. I'll be speaking to the president shortly. Also on tonight's program, British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh on how the aviation industry can clean its act. The leaders of the world's biggest economies and some of the world's biggest polluters are vowing to do more to protect the planet. Speaking at the U.N. Conference on Climate Change in New York, President Obama says the world must address climate change now, or what he calls suffer irreversible catastrophe. The president says his country is determined to act. And he says he won't let the global economic crisis get in the way.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Difficulty is no excuse for complacency. Unease is no excuse for inaction. And we must not allow the perfect to become the enemy of progress. Each of us must do what we can when we can to grow our economies without endangering our planet. And we must all do it together.
[Quest:] Resolute words. But President Obama is so far short on concrete action. Meanwhile, the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, says his country will be at the forefront of the battle on climate change. He is vowing to cut emissions by a notable margin by 2020. Japan has gone one better, pledging a 25 percent reduction in emissions by the same year. And the E.U. is urging rich countries to match its pledge to cut emissions by 20 percent by 2020. All of these pledges and promises, all are just on the steps along the road to Copenhagen, where in December, leaders will attempt to strike a lasting deal to slow down climate change. There are economic problems in doing so. And these discussions take place at a time of just recovery. Jose Manuel Barroso is the president of the European Commission, and says talks are dangerously close to deadlock, in danger of acrimonious collapse. I spoke to the president and wanted to know, who is deadlocked and who is not willing to give?
[Jose Manuel Barroso, President, European Commission:] I'm not going to enter in the blame game. I'm saying that I'm very worried the slow pace of negotiations. I think everybody now has to give. Today I'm encouraged by the positive speeches made by President Obama, by President Hu of China, by the prime minister of Japan, and others. But in fact, we have to be serious about it. There is still a long way to go if you want to make a success, and to seal the deal at Copenhagen.
[Quest:] You see, the problem is, in general terms everybody will agree with you. It's when you get to the specifics, you're familiar with the phrase "the devil is in the detail."
[Barroso:] Yes. That's why I want to be clear about this. We believe that the developed countries should commit to binding targets in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, as we have done in Europe. We have offered 20 percent, we'll do it unilaterally by 2020, and we are ready to go up to 30 percent if others make the comparable effort. We believe also that the big emerging, developing countries should also accept some actions to go below business as usual so that they can reduce, in fact, their normal pattern of greenhouse gas emissions. And that's where there was today an
[Quest:] But can there be a successful conclusion of Copenhagen when the world is just coming of a global recession, and there is little appetite for, if you like, anti-growth policies, or the way in which such policies might be put forward?
[Barroso:] I think the costs of not doing things are much higher than the costs of doing it. It's certainly a better deal to save the planet than to allow its destruction. And there is an important thing we have to explain to all treasury ministers in the world, is that there are some kinds of expenditure that we can postpone. In developing countries, if you want to build something, we can wait some more years. But in this issue, the later we act, the more expensive it will be to build. So from an economic point of view, it makes all sense to act now. The later we act, the more expensive.
[Quest:] But you can't.
[Barroso:] . it will be to build, we will have to pay.
[Quest:] But you can't get the agreement now, even President Obama has admitted it is going to be more difficult on economic grounds alone to get people to sign up to uncomfortable decisions.
[Barroso:] It is fair to recognize that President Obama has made an important change and progress in his eight months. The United States are moving. They have presented at least
[Quest:] If you your speech yesterday is downright pessimistic about the reality, the pragmatism of getting an agreement in Copenhagen. So my final question to you may sound obvious. You're not optimistic.
[Barroso:] I'm very worried. I think there is a real danger of failing, Copenhagen. And that's why I hope this week here in Copenhagen, and also in Pittsburgh, we create a new momentum to achieve it, if not, it will be a real disaster for the global community.
[Quest:] President Barroso of the European Commission. Whenever the subject of greenhouse gas emissions and industry is talked about, one industry always comes up short. It is the aviation industry. Today the aviation industry all came together in some shape and form, and came up with a proposal from leading airports, backed by IATA, that they said would halve emissions by 2050. The deal goes along the lines of this. According to Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways, this plan is the best option for the planet. It is supported by 230-odd members of IATA, the idea being that they will move towards halving their emissions through a series of different plans, including new aircraft, new engines. But also through things like perhaps increased air fares and carbon emission trading schemes. This is all the idea is ways in which people can the airlines can incentivize to use that horrible word, incentivize themselves to actually trade carbon emissions. But some suggest that alone could cost the industry billions of dollars a year. Aviation accounts for 1.6 percent of global emissions, depending on your point of view. Some say it's up to 3 percent. But the significance is, it's a rising number. As more of us are flying, there are more planes, there are more routes, low-cost carriers. So when you take all of this together, halving of the emissions, the amount of global emissions involved, I turn to Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, who joined me on the phone line a little bit while ago, and I said, look, you're going to halve the emissions, but you're not going to do it for 40 years. Why can't you do it sooner?
[Willie Walsh, Ceo, British Airways:] We're clear, from an airline point of view, that the option of having an alternative fuel source is not going to be available in the short term. Now I'm much more optimistic about the prospects of an alternative to kerosene. But realistically, the industry's opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint is limited by that absence of a credible alternative fuel source. But I still believe that a target of 50 percent reduction by 2050 is both ambitious, which is important, and, you know, achievable, which I suppose may sound like a contradiction when I say it's ambitious. But it's very important that the industry demonstrates that we're prepared to meet our commitments.
[Quest:] Are you finding any difficulty either for yourselves or with your fellow CEOs that it is difficult to put forward an environmental agenda when your airlines are losing money and are in such difficult economic times themselves? The two you know, is now the time to be making environmental initiatives?
[Walsh:] That's an excellent question. And I personally believe there is never a better time. I think we've got to start taking steps today to ensure that we exit this very dramatic downturn in a better position from a structural point of view. And clearly for the long-term viability of our interests, we've got to address our environmental performance. So I think it's actually very encouraging that the industry and this is an industry approach, is facing up to this issue at what is the most challenging time in the history of the airline industry.
[Quest:] Finally, Willie, the airline industry has done a spectacularly bad job of putting its argument forward. Aviation CO2 emissions are just some 3 percent, and yet you have managed not you personally, but the industry has managed to become the bogeyman of emissions.
[Walsh:] I think that's a fair comment, Richard. We actually account for about 2 percent of global emissions. And I think part of the problem is up until recently, and when I say recently, I mean, probably the last two years, many within the industry refused to acknowledge that environmental issues were something we should be concerned about. Now what I've seen is a huge change in attitude, which is really encouraging, in the past 24 months, where the industry has woken up to this issue. And many who refused to acknowledge it are now leading the campaign to ensure that the industry address it. So we've seen a big a turnaround. And that's encouraging. And that gives me even greater reason for optimism around our ability to become more aggressive, more ambitious in terms of our targets as we move forward.
[Quest:] More aggressive and more ambitious, the chief executive Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, talking to me earlier today. The news headlines now, and on an extremely busy day, Fionnuala Sweeney is at the CNN news desk.
[Fionnuala Sweeney, Cnn International Anchor:] Hello, Richard. U.S. President Barack Obama says it's time to move forward on peace. He has been meeting with the Israeli prime minister and the Palestinian president on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. No concrete agreement emerged from the talks, and chances for a breakthrough were slim. But Mr. Obama says it's time for both sides to demonstrate common sense to achieve common goals. Violence erupts outside the Brazilian embassy in the capital of Honduras. Supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya are clashing with police. Zelaya himself is holed up inside the embassy. We're also getting word from the U.S. State Department that the embassy there has shut its doors due to what is called a fluid situation in the capital. French police have raided and dismantled a camp for illegal immigrants near the city of Calais. They arrested some 278 residents of the camp known by locals as "The Jungle." Authorities say the camp was a haven for human traffickers, but protesters say arresting the migrants won't solve the problem. People are bailing out from widespread floods that have inundated the southern U.S. state of Georgia. At least seven deaths have been blamed on the floods there. And washed out roads and bridges continue to make travel difficult. Georgia governor Sonny Perdue has declared a state of emergency in 17 counties, and is asking for federal disaster relief money. And stay tuned for more on those stories in "WORLD ONE" at 8:30 p.m. London time. We'll have a special "In Focus" report from Greenland. Have a look at these stunning images of ancient glaciers. The question is, though, how long will they last? The outlook, unfortunately, is pretty grim. That's "In Focus" on "WORLD ONE" in about an hour and 20 minutes. In the meantime, back to you, Richard, in the studio.
[Quest:] And congratulations to yourself, Fionnuala, for a splendid launch last night. Fionnuala Sweeney at the CNN news desk. When we come back in just a moment, we're going to talk about M&A;, merger-acquisition activity.