Judy: Staying with climate
change, I spoke earlier today to
John Kerry, president Biden's
special envoy for climate, at an
event sponsored by the center
for global development.
Here are some edited excerpts
from our wide-ranging
conversation.
I asked whether he still
believes congress will approve
more money to help poorer
countries adapt to climate
change, given the political
divisions and high oil prices.
>> I have hopes that still
congress can pass climate
legislation, and I know folks
are talking even now in these
next days, and I remain hopeful
we can get a climate bill.
It is hard to fathom that the
senate I served in for 28 years,
when we used to deal with each
other on a bipartisan basis to
get things done, that now they
are a group of people that don't
accept the science that is
settled and we are not able to
move forward.
Every economic analysis that has
been peer-reviewed over the last
15, 20 years documents that it
is far more expensive to not
respond to climate.
If we respond, we can win this
battle.
We can create millions of jobs
around the planet.
We can have cleaner air.
We are talking about reducing
pollution.
Methane is pollution, CO2 is
pollution.
10 million people a year die
from this pollution, yet we are
increasing at.
If you want a definition of
insanity, it is the behavior the
world is falling into a not
responding to this crisis.
We can have a healthier,
cleaner, more secure planet if
we do the things on the table to
have clean energy.
Judy: It has been reported you
told the white house national
climate advisor that a new U.S.
Commitment on fossil fuels
needed to be at least 50%
reduction by 2030 four the U.S.
To be a credible negotiator.
Is that still a goal?
>> Gina Mccarthy didn't need me
to suggest a level.
She is very savvy and knows
exactly what we needed to do.
She did an incredible job
pulling all the efforts of the
United States together to come
up with a ballistic target.
We did not want to put something
phony out there.
We wanted to know this was
something we could reach.
Gina and her team all agreed
that a 50% to 52% reduction was
something we could achieve.
It's realistic, more than a lot
of other countries.
Canada is not at that level,
Japan, others.
But others are doing what they
can.
Judy: You are saying the U.S. Is
on track for that 50% reduction?
>> We were, I don't think we are
at this instant because of
Ukraine and the additional
production that needs to take
place to deal with geopolitical
economic realities.
There has been a delay in
implementation to some degree.
The ipcc report a few weeks ago
made it clear that we still have
the ability to achieve what we
set out to do.
It's a hard choice we have to
make, which is how do we do this
in a way that deals with the
immediate needs of fulfilling
power, transportation
requirements but not something
built out so long it is adding
to the problem long-term.
Judy: You mentioned backsliding
by others, given what's going on
in Ukraine, given the current
political, economic environment.
Some of that backsliding has, on
the part of the Biden
administration.
New ethanol rules, the opening
of many acres of federal lands
for drilling.
There are other decisions being
made right now.
How much of a setback is that
inside your own administration?
>> I don't think it's a setback
because I don't think a lot of
it is going to produce --
oil companies have massive
numbers of leases today.
Opening something to a lease and
they buy the lease, that's not a
well.
That doesn't produce drilling.
As I said, gas over the next few
years, as long as you have a
plan for capturing emissions as
you go forward, that can be
mitigated.
There are a vast number of
leases held by these companies
and they are not drilling.
This is a demand curve driven
event and what you are going to
see around the world is more and
more technologies coming on line
producing cleaner and less
expensive fuels.
Solar and wind are less
expensive than coal or oil or
gas, they just are.
I think people are going to make
choices based on economics.
I don't think it's going to
amount to a setback in the
long-term.
The president needs to stabilize
economies.
The world needs to have
stabilized economies.
Unfortunately that requires a
temporary effort to make sure
there is enough supply of fuel,
enough supply of the essential
ingredients of that economy,
that you stabilize and are not
pricing everybody out of the
market.
If you price everybody out, you
are going to have either an
implosion economically or a
revolution as people rebelled
against prices they are not able
to pay.
There are some realities you
have to enter into.
I don't think the president has
walked -- has blocked that one
iota.
He has reluctantly had to make
some tough decisions.
Ultimately this will smooth out.
Judy: Sec. John Kerry, who has
been working on these issues for
a number of years, now the U.S.
Special representative,
presidential envoy for climate
change.