“And so, I hope President Putin will help us to stay on track with respect to what we need to do for the climate.” – John Kerry, Feb. 23, 2022
In the pantheon of unserious statements by a leading U.S. official on the literal eve of war, it will be tough to top the one quoted above from former Secretary of State and current Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
Kerry’s sober concern for the emissions that will result from Putin’s aggression is only topped by his worry that kinetic war will distract attention away from the climate crisis.
From the Wall Street Journal:
“Weeks before thermobaric rockets rained down on Ukraine, the chattering classes at the World Economic Forum declared “climate action failure” the biggest global risk for the coming decade.
“On the eve of war, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry fretted about the “massive emissions consequences” of Russian invasion and worried that the world might forget about the risks of climate change if fighting broke out.
“Amid the conflict and the many other challenges facing the globe right now, like inflation and food price hikes, the global elite has an unhealthy obsession with climate change.”
Read more here.