John Kerry, special presidential envoy for climate change, speaks on Wednesday, January 27, 2021, during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House in Washington.
Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images
No country can solve the climate crisis – and the US pursuit of greater research and development on climate change is not an opposition to China, John Berry, a climate delegate from Biden, told CNBC on Sunday.
“No one can solve this problem on their own – impossible. Each of us needs everyone at the table to make it happen,” Kerry told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble in Abu Dhabi after concluding the UAE’s Regional Climate Dialogue. during which he traveled on renewable tour. energy facilities in the oil-rich Gulf state.
It’s about China, the United States, India, Russia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Australia, a bunch of countries that emit a fair amount, the United States and China the most.
John Kerry
US Climate Envoy
President Joe Biden has made tackling climate change a top priority for his government. The White House has targeted its clean energy measures – which include public funding for electric vehicles (EVs), millions of additional EV charging ports and the construction of buildings and homes – to achieve the long-term goal of net emissions by 2050. said.
And its $ 2 billion massive infrastructure proposal, if signed into law, would be one of America’s biggest federal efforts ever to halt its greenhouse gas emissions.
In the plan, the US would invest $ 35 billion in clean technologies and spend $ 174 billion on refurbishing the country’s EV market. But it still pales in comparison to what China has spent in recent years on clean energy research and development.
According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, China’s R & D spending rose 10.3% to $ 378 billion in 2020, surpassing the US. China is also responsible for about 30% of the world’s CO2 emissions, more than twice that of the US
Asked if it was about him, Kerry said it was not happening.
“No, I’m not worried because President Biden has a plan,” he said. Kerry served as secretary of state under President Barack Obama when Biden was vice president.
“I think this is a great economic opportunity, not just for the United States with people around the world,” he said. “It’s not about China, it’s not about China. It’s about China, the United States, India, Russia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Australia, a bunch of countries emitting a fair amount, the United States and China the most. ‘
Kerry added that the US and China account for almost 45% of all global emissions.
The addition of Europe to the list is half the total total. Europe has probably made greater progress than China or the United States in slowing down climate change.
“So three institutions need to work with many other countries to be serious about reducing emissions, and to address this moment of history,” Kerry said.
The one area for collaboration?
“We will continue to need gas, certainly for a period, oil for a period in a transition,” Kerry added. ‘We have to move on [away from fossil fuels] here. No one can pretend that you can just wave and blow with a magic wand, you will suddenly have renewable energy overnight. ‘
China and the US remain at odds over numerous issues – most notably trade, human rights, intellectual property and technology.
The U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) and flanked by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (R) faces their Chinese counterparts during the opening session of U.S. and China talks in Captain Cook hotel in Anchorage, Alaska on March 18th. , 2021.
Frederic J. Brown | Reuters