John Kerry, Presidential Special Envoy for Climate, speaks at a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.
Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty images
No country can solve the climate crisis – and America’s push for more research and development on climate change does not conflict with China, Biden government climate envoy John Kerry told CNBC on Sunday.
“No country can solve this problem alone – impossible. Each of us needs everyone at the table to make this happen,” Kerry told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble in Abu Dhabi after finishing the UAE’s regional climate dialogue, in which he said. tour went with renewables. energy supplies in the oil-rich Gulf state.
This is about China, the United States, India, Russia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Australia, some of the countries that emit quite a lot, the United States and China the most.
John Kerry
American climate envoy
President Joe Biden has made tackling climate change a top priority for his administration. Its clean energy measures – including government funding for electric vehicles (EVs), millions of additional charging ports for electric vehicles, and modifications to buildings and homes – are aimed at achieving the long-term goal of net zero emissions by 2050, it says. White House. said.
And its massive $ 2 trillion infrastructure proposal, if signed into law, would be one of America’s greatest ever federal efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the plan, the US would invest $ 35 billion in clean technologies and spend $ 174 billion on revamping the electric vehicle market. But that still pales in comparison to what China has spent on clean energy research and development in recent years.
According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, China’s R&D expenditure increased 10.3% in 2020 to $ 378 billion. China is also responsible for about 30% of the world’s CO2 emissions, more than double those of the US.
Asked if that worries him, Kerry said it wasn’t.
“No, I’m not worried because President Biden has a plan,” said the former Senator and Secretary of State under Barack Obama.
“I think this is a huge economic opportunity, not just for the United States with people all over the world,” he said. “This is not about China, this is not a counterbalance to China. This is about China, the United States, India, Russia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Australia, some countries that emit quite a lot, the United States and China the most. ”
Kerry added that the US and China make up nearly 45% of all global emissions.
Adding Europe to the list accounts for half of the world total. Europe has arguably made more progress than China or the United States in trying to slow climate change.
“So three entities have to work with many other countries to take emissions seriously and to address this moment in history,” said Kerry.
The only area for collaboration?
“We will continue to need gas, at least for a while, oil for a transition period,” added Kerry. “We have to switch [away from fossil fuels] here. No one can pretend you can just wave a magic wand and boom, overnight you will suddenly have renewable energy sources everywhere. ”
China and the US remain at odds on many issues – particularly trade, human rights, intellectual property and technology.
The US delegation, led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) and flanked by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (R), faces their Chinese counterparts at the opening session of the US-China talks at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska at 18 March. , 2021.
Frederic J. Brown | Reuters