Outgoing climate czar John Kerry has stirred controversy with his tactless comment about Russia.
The special envoy for climate, who is transitioning to President Biden’s campaign committee this spring, suggested that if Russia put in more effort to reduce emissions, it could improve global perception of their actions. He was referring to Russia’s destructive invasion of Ukraine.
Please watch the video on Fox News…
It’s not clear from the video of a foreign press briefing earlier this week whether Kerry provided more details or faced further questioning from journalists in the room.
A Climate Office spokesperson informed the Herald on Friday that Kerry stated before his comment, as seen in the video, that Russia’s invasion over two years ago remains unlawful.
“Sec. Kerry began by stating that he believed ‘that if Russia has the ability to wage a war illegally and invade another country, they ought to be able to find the effort to be responsible on the climate issue,'” the spokesperson said.
“And unfortunately,” the spokesperson said Kerry added, “because of the actions that Russia took in an unprovoked, illegal war against another nation, we have not been engaged in discussions with Russia.”
The spokesperson added, “If you read the entire quote, he was clearly talking about their emissions and climate record and not the Ukraine war when he said people would feel better about what they are doing right now.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky states that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed during Russia’s full-scale invasion, with a UN committee reporting 30,457 civilian deaths. BBC reports, with a UN committee reporting 30,457 civilian deaths.
