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Dinosaur Warns Nations Are “Driving Themselves to Extinction” with Billions in Fossil Fuel Subsidies

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A new ad released by the United Nations Development Program shows a computer-generated dinosaur speaking in the U.N. General Assembly hall, warning diplomats that “going extinct is a bad thing” and calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies. The dinosaur is voiced by Jack Black.

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This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to get your response to a remarkable U.N. ad that was put out last week. We’re going to play that ad, Brianna. It was a dinosaur addressing the United Nations. It was released by the United Nations Development Program, showing a computer-generated dinosaur addressing the U.N. General Assembly. The dinosaur is voiced by Jack Black.

DINOSAUR: [voiced by Jack Black] Listen up, people. I know a thing or two about extinction. And let me tell you — and you’d kind of think this would be obvious — going extinct is a bad thing. And driving yourselves extinct in 70 million years, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. At least we had an asteroid. What’s your excuse?

You’re headed for a climate disaster, and yet every year governments spend hundreds of billions of public funds on fossil fuel subsidies. Imagine if we had spent hundreds of billions per year subsidizing giant meteors. That’s what you’re doing right now. Think of all the other things you could do with that money. Around the world people are living in poverty. Don’t you think helping them would make more sense than, I don’t know, paying for the demise of your entire species?

Let me be real for a second. You’ve got a huge opportunity right now. As you rebuild your economies and bounce back from this pandemic, this is humanity’s big chance. So here’s my wild idea: Don’t choose extinction. Save your species before it’s too late. It’s time for you humans to stop making excuses and start making changes. Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN: And especially for our radio listeners, that was a dinosaur addressing the U.N. General Assembly. Don’t confuse him with Jack Black, who voiced it. Brianna, your final comment?

BRIANNA FRUEAN: Yeah, that was a powerful statement. And I think it’s a real thought in our minds now that, you know, in humanity, we’ve made a lot of mistakes. We’ve had war. We’ve had famine. We’ve had a lot of instances where we’ve put humans in danger. Never, ever in the history of this planet have we lost a country, have we been able to say, “Wow, a country just completely drowned under water.” And so, if we’re able to really think about the islands, think about extinction and save our Pacific islands, I think that can be our first step as humanity. We need to look out for each other, and everyone can’t just think that this is just an issue for the Pacific. This is an issue for the rest of the world.

AMY GOODMAN: We thank you so much for being with us, Brianna Fruean, climate justice activist from Samoa, from Samoa, member of the Pacific Climate Warriors delegation at COP26, youth representative of the Pacific Climate Warriors Council of Elders, speaking to us from Glasgow.

When we come back, we come back to the United States to look at Monday’s Supreme Court oral arguments on the constitutionality of Texas’ near-total ban on abortions. We’ll speak with the legendary lawyer Kitty Kolbert, who argued the landmark Supreme Court case credited with saving Roe v. Wade several decades ago. Stay with us.

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