Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry listens as President Gabriel Boric Chile speaks earlier than a signing ceremony for the “International Coalition to Connect Marine Protected Areas” at the CEO Summit of the Americas on June 09, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. The CEO Summit entered its’ second day of occasions alongside the Summit of the Americas, which is internet hosting leaders from throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Rebuilding the financial system to decarbonize is vital to reduce the demise and destruction attributable to world warming. But it is also one in all the largest alternatives to make cash in generations, in accordance with feedback made by the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry on Thursday.
“This is the largest market the world has ever been staring at: the energy transition market,” Kerry mentioned at the IV CEO Summit of the Americas hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles.
“Every aspect of life can be impacted in a positive way. It’s not something to fear — that we have to shun and shy away from. We have to embrace this transition which will, in the end, I guarantee you, be larger than ultimately than the Industrial Revolution was.”
The Industrial Revolution is the time interval from the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s, roughly, when processes went from being finished by hand to being finished by machine.
It’s a possibility, nonetheless, that the United States is not taking as severely as many different nations in the world, Kerry mentioned.
“Every country I am visiting is more seized by this issue than we are yet in the United States, regrettably,” Kerry mentioned. “And I say that really sadly.”
Kerry praised the White House. President Joe Biden is devoted to local weather, Kerry mentioned in a dialog moderated by the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti.
Kerry blamed, at the least partly, political polarization for slowing down the progress the United States is making.
“We can do this. We can do a whole bunch of this right now, except for our politics,” Kerry mentioned.
Kerry mentioned even the many international locations which are transferring quicker than the United States aren’t transferring quick sufficient.
Nations round the globe have to deploy renewables, akin to wind and photo voltaic, 5 – 6 occasions quicker than they’re at present to satisfy the most popular goal of the Paris Agreement. The settlement is a purpose established in 2015 by the worldwide neighborhood to restrict world warming to “well below” 2 levels Celsius — “and preferably” to 1.5 levels Celsius — in contrast with preindustrial ranges.
The world neighborhood must transition away from coal six occasions quicker than we’re and deploy electrical automobiles 22 occasions quicker than it is at present taking place, in accordance with the International Energy Agency, Kerry mentioned.
Kerry mentioned that decreasing emissions to restrict world warming is not a matter that must be debated.
“It is driven by biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics,” Kerry mentioned. “And it is predictable and has been predicted for 35 years.”
In addition to the political hurdles the United States is dealing with, it additionally wants a “full-fledged” buy-in from the personal sector, Kerry mentioned.
“Our enemy right now, and I say this politely, is the status quo. We are fighting against people who still want to choose the path of least resistance to this challenge,” Kerry mentioned. “And it happens, unfortunately, to be the path of greatest destruction.”