Speaking to CNN, Mr Kerry said China's co-operation was "absolutely critical" to battle the climate crisis. Even if the United States went to zero tomorrow, we’d still have a problem because 85 percent of the rest of the emissions come from the rest of the world. There will be big issues for both sides to resolve. I’d be upset. Join FP’s Virtual Climate Summit, April 27-28, to hear more from John Kerry and other climate leaders from around the world. How do you get around that and bring along a part of the country that often hears in the media that climate change isn’t even a problem? We hope people will accept the sense of shared responsibility here to get the job done. India's capital struggles to find space to cremate its dead during the second wave of the pandemic. We want to work in a constructive way with these countries. Just a quick reminder of the ground rules: This event will be on the record and contents will be embargoed until the briefing is completed. FP: How much of the financing you need for green initiatives is tied to the $2 trillion infrastructure bill? How do you respond to criticisms that governments are still not doing enough? My sense is the Chinese know that there is a benefit to both of us being able to resolve the climate crisis because our citizens are deeply affected by our failure to do so. It’s a bridge. Foreign Policy: Secretary Kerry, let’s begin with the just-concluded Leaders Summit on Climate. And what happens if it doesn’t pass? People who have been involved in these negotiations for those many years have great respect for him because he’s been able to thread the needle between the ideological tug or the other differences and stay focused on the climate issue. But there’s been criticism in Europe that EU member nations, according to European lawmaker Michael Bloss, “have rushed through a weak climate law for the sake of a photo-op with President Joe Biden.” What do you make of that comment, and is there room to set more ambitious targets when world leaders convene again later this year at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland? JK: He cares about this issue. Read about our approach to external linking. The fact is that it’s the total of all those emissions that are affecting our climate. In a contentious international environment, superpowers can spur each other on. Anybody would be. I think President Biden believes very much that the more developed countries do have a moral responsibility. Tell us what you know about him. "Yes, we have big disagreements with China on some key issues, absolutely. You met your wife, Teresa, at the first U.N. climate conference in 1992. Secondly, and I think this is the far more powerful argument, when you have trillions of dollars that are being invested in these new technologies and moving into this new energy marketplace, that’s going to be such a powerful job creator and such a powerful moneymaker. Register here. He … The US climate envoy … On Thursday, the United States announced it would reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent (compared to 2005 levels) within the next eight years. President Biden is expected to declare the formal US offer before, or at, next week’s summit. April 26, 2021, 4:25 PM. And I think that opens the door or window to other possibilities in those other arenas. He’s relentless, strategic, kind of annoying—and might just save the planet. This administration has been fairly tough on China. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry speaks during a daily press briefing at the White House in Washington on April 22. Span of time is that it ’ s a bonanza time leap ' on climate in. 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