John Kerry says the world faces a climate change doomsday within nine years unless drastic action is taken now.
The comment by President Biden’s special envoy for climate change came during a segment for CBS’ “Eye on Earth” hosted by senior national and environmental correspondent Ben Tracy.
“Some people get hung up on the term ’global warming’ and say, ’well, I thought everything’s supposed to get warmer?’ I heard one scientist say this is really ’global weirding.’ Is that a better way to think of this?” Mr. Tracy asked Friday while referencing a recent cold snap causing havoc across the nation.
Mr. Kerry concurred.
“I think it’s a very appropriate way to think of it,” the Democrat said. “It’s directly related to the warming even though your instinct is to say, ’wait a minute. This is the new ice age.’ But it’s not. It is coming from the global warming and it threatens all the normal weather patterns.”
The two then pivoted to claims of a de facto climate change apocalypse on the horizon.
“How much time do we still have left to avert climate catastrophe?” Mr. Tracy asked.
“Well, the scientists told us three years ago we had 12 years to avert the worst consequences of climate crisis. We are now three years gone, so we have nine years left,” Mr. Kerry said. “Even if we did everything that we said we were gonna do when we signed up in Paris [to the climate change accord], we would see a rise in the earth’s temperature to somewhere around 3.7 degrees or more, which is catastrophic. There is no room for B.S. anymore. There’s no faking it on this one.”
Mr. Kerry also addressed the issue on Feb. 2 by telling CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that he supported large carbon taxes as a way to combat climate change.
“We could do it I think,” the former Massachusetts senator told the CNN host. “I mean, theoretically, yes. It is one option of many things we’re gonna have to consider and may wind up doing. There are many people who make the point, and I personally accept it, that that is one of the most significant, bold steps you can take to actually have an impact in a rapid way. And I believe there are ways to do that and make it very progressive, to protect people who have to drive long distances to get to work. Do things like that. There are ways to cushion any negative impacts on it.”
Today, the U.S. officially rejoins the Paris Climate Accord.
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) February 19, 2021
America is the second largest emitter behind China of greenhouse gases that are warming the planet.@BensTracy spoke exclusively with former Sec. of State @JohnKerry, who is now the Biden admin’s @ClimateEnvoy. pic.twitter.com/axnOvMOLp6
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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