US climate envoy John Kerry said climate change was the biggest threat facing the world — and called on the international community to come together to overcome the challenge.
Mr Kerry, US presidential envoy for climate, said that instead of uniting for “concentrated action together”, divisions had been caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
He called the conflict an “an inexcusable, grotesque exercise of power in the 21st century,” during a Countdown to Cop27 event at Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi, part of a sustainability week staged by The Economist.
“The mood is tough and everyone knows it,” Mr Kerry said.
He said the world had its destiny in its hands and must be guided by science and not ideology when tackling climate change.
“We control it [climate change] ultimately because we are the ones who caused it,” he said.
“And now the challenge is, are we going to listen to the science and respond adequately to the things that we know we have to do?
“I will tell you bluntly. Nothing that we are proposing to do is based on politics or ideology; it is based on mathematics and physics, and science, which we all went to school to learn.”
Race against time to protect planet
Warning that the world is racing against time in mitigating climate change, he said, “We will get to a low-carbon, net-zero world. We will get there in this century. The question that is outstanding is, will we get there in time to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis?”
He took aim at Donald Trump, US president between 2017 and 2021, accusing him of damaging policies towards climate change.
“Those years were blown by a president of our country who was so ignorant about this subject and he just did nothing,” he said.
“No, he didn't do nothing. He went negative and pulled out of the Paris Agreement.”
The international treaty on climate change was adopted by nearly every nation in 2015.
But Mr Kerry struck a more optimistic note over the US push towards renewable energy.
He said that “75 per cent of new electricity in the United States of America that was coming online in the last five or six years, has all been renewables”.
Mr Kerry said big business had invested hundreds of billions of dollars to shape a more sustainable future.
“We will be electric. We are going electric by 2035. Our goal is zero carbon in our power sector, and our utilities have bought into that as they are in other parts of the world.
“So, this is a moment that is unbelievably exciting.”
Along with the energy transition, Mr Kerry said there is also an opportunity for big economic transition that “will be as big as the Industrial Revolution”.
“Every one of us needs to redo our method of delivering power to homes and businesses. And cleaning it up. Every one of us needs to figure out how we're going to transport millions of people,” he said.
But Mr Kerry said the transition to net zero and the estimated $4 trillion needed can be achieved only with the support of the private sector.
“There's barely a government in the world that has money to do this. And I've been saying for several years and I believe this very deeply. We don't get there without the private sector,” he said.
Global fight on climate change - in pictures
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Engineers carry solar panels on to the roof of a property in Barcelona in September 2022. Spain and other Mediterranean countries have generated record amounts of power from wind and solar farms. Bloomberg -
Smoke rises from brick factory stacks in Nahrawan, Baghdad. Tackling emissions from heavy industry is crucial to tackling global warming. Reuters -
A boy stands near a flock of sheep as a sandstorm approaches in the Syrian countryside of Tabqa. Syria is among the countries most vulnerable and poorly prepared for climate change, which is expected to worsen. AFP -
Mountains of smouldering rubbish at the Bhalswa landfill in New Delhi, India. Reuters -
Greenpeace activists take part in a climate change protest in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in May. AP -
A man carries water bottles across the heavily polluted Negro River in Manaus, Brazil. About 35 tonnes of rubbish are removed daily from the river. AP -
A helicopter drops water on a brush fire in California. Bloomberg -
UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa speaks on the opening day of the Bonn climate change conference in Germany. Getty -
Activists take part in a demonstration to raise awareness of global warming, during an event to mark World Environment Day in Kolkata. AFP -
A helicopter drops water on a bushfire near a residential district in Athens. The fire forced residents to flee. AFP -
A gauge measures water levels in the Rio Nambe river, in New Mexico. Ninety per cent of the state is experiencing extreme drought. Getty -
Afghan refugees search for recyclable material from heaps of rubbish in Karachi, Pakistan. AP -
A climate activist ties herself to the net during the semi-final tennis match between Croatia's Marin Cilic and Norway's Casper Ruud at the French Open in Roland Garros in Paris. AP -
A dance group performs at a climate summit in Stockholm, Sweden. Getty -
US climate envoy John Kerry talks to a delegate at the Stockholm 50 climate summit. Getty -
A boat is stranded during low tide at the Chebayesh marsh in Dhi Qar province, Iraq. Reuters -
A woman crosses a polluted river in Dhaka, Bangladesh. EPA -
A man walks past an abandoned boat in the bed of a drought-affected reservoir on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen. EPA
