U.S. special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry says no one nation can solve the climate crisis by itself. The former secretary of state is an advocate of personal diplomacy and is touring Asia ahead of a two-day climate summit hosted by the United States.

Kerry is meeting with foreign officials in pursuit of consensus-building around climate change. Kerry joined Washington Post opinions writer Jonathan Capehart to discuss the importance of setting ambitious goals to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and how the U.S. plans to lead by example.

Highlights

The U.S. and China have pledged to work together to tackle climate change. John Kerry, President Biden’s International Climate Envoy, says, “Without China at the table, there’s simply no way to resolve the climate crisis.” (Washington Post Live)
John Kerry, President Biden’s International Climate Envoy, says Thursday’s Leaders Summit on Climate will feature “20 top nations all talking about what they intend to do to meet the moment." He added, “It is critical because 20 nations are the equivalent of 81 percent of all the emissions on the planet, and we need those 20 above all to step up.” (Washington Post Live)
John Kerry, President Biden’s International Climate Envoy, says nations around the world will need to push to meet goals like limiting global warming to 1.5° Celsius. “Are we at the rate we need to be to achieve 1.5? No. Can we get there? Yes, if we really push.” (Washington Post Live)

John Kerry

On January 20, 2021, John F. Kerry was sworn in as our nation’s first Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and the first-ever Principal to sit on the National Security Council entirely dedicated to climate change. President Biden announced Kerry would have a seat at every table around the world as he combats the climate crisis to meet the existential threat that we face. In recent years, Kerry was the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s first ever Visiting Distinguished Statesman, following his four years as the 68th United States Secretary of State. As America’s top diplomat, he guided the Department’s strategy on nuclear nonproliferation, combating radical extremism, and the threat of climate change. His tenure was marked by the successful negotiation of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate Agreement.

From 1985 to 2013, he served as a U.S. Senator representing Massachusetts, and was Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2009 to 2013. Secretary Kerry served in the U.S. Navy, completing two combat tours of duty in Vietnam for which he received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple Hearts. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his law degree from Boston College Law School. Secretary Kerry is the best-selling author of A Call to Service, This Moment on Earth with his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry, and his 2018 memoir, Every Day Is Extra, which The New York Times described as “a bittersweet reminder of what the country once demanded of its leaders.” Secretary Kerry was the Democratic Party’s nominee for President of the United States in 2004.