WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said last month鈥檚 international talks didn鈥檛 do enough to speed up cuts in emissions of heat-trapping gases.
Kerry told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that there was progress on some aspects of reducing carbon pollution during the United Nations summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. But he said there could and should have been much more and that what was done on the issue was overshadowed by a historic, but what he called potentially 鈥減yrrhic,鈥� for poor nations victimized by a warming world.
鈥淲e needed to significantly accelerate the reduction of emissions," Kerry said. "I would have liked to have seen greater outcome from Sharm with respect to mitigation,鈥� which is what climate negotiators call cutting carbon pollution. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e just going to have to keep pushing,鈥� he added.
鈥淲e have to increase the mitigation and that鈥檚 the one thing that I thought should have been highlighted even more,鈥� Kerry said. 鈥淭here was forward movement very clearly at increased ambition, but I think it needed to do more.鈥�
Hours after , United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell on emission cuts, but that it's acceptable, given the compensation fund creation amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis and inflation.
The United States supported an unsuccessful push by India to include natural gas and oil in existing international agreements that call for the phase down of 鈥渦nmitigated coal鈥� use, meaning emissions that are not captured or cleaned. But with natural gas-exporting Egypt acting as host and president of the meeting and thus setting the agenda, the issue was not on any final proposed documents.
鈥淚 wish I had been around for that part of the debate. I was at the moment during that part of it,鈥� said Kerry, who has recovered from the illness. 鈥淲e have to continue to push forward with the reduction of unmitigated use of fossil fuel because that鈥檚 what鈥檚 creating the damage in the world.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the emissions that are creating the problem,鈥� Kerry said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we have a lot of leeway here. We鈥檝e got to accelerate that effort.鈥�
Key to that is China, the world鈥檚 No. 1 carbon dioxide polluting nation, with Kerry saying 鈥渢here is no way to realistically resolve the climate crisis without being engaged with China.鈥�
Earlier this year, China put on hold all talks, including on climate, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi鈥檚 visit to Taiwan. But after Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in Bali during the second week of climate talks in Egypt, Kerry and his Chinese counterpart at the summit. But no new deals were struck.
鈥淲e ran out of time in Sharm El-Sheikh,鈥� Kerry said. 鈥淚 look forward to picking up the conversation when we have a chance.鈥�
Kerry pointed to increases in planned emissions cuts by Mexico, Egypt and Vietnam as positives. He also highlighted a $10 billion aid plan from western countries to renewable fuels and promises by more countries to cut emissions of methane, which is more potent than carbon dioxide but doesn鈥檛 last as long in the atmosphere.
Kerry also noted that the head of the International Energy Agency said if all countries did what they promised, future warming (3.1 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial times, an improvement of a tenth of a degree from projections a year earlier. The global goal is to limit warming to 1.5 degrees (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), and the world has already warmed 1.1 degrees (2 degrees Fahrenheit).
The 1.7 estimate included 鈥渁 huge 鈥榖ut鈥� with exclamation points" because it depends on nations doing what they pledge and 鈥渁lmost every nation in the world is not doing enough to keep the promises they set,鈥� Kerry said.
Failure to deliver is one of the potential issues with the creation of a fund to aid poor nations victimized by climate disasters, Kerry said. Those nations had been pushing for a fund for more than 30 years 鈥� an issue called loss and damage by negotiators 鈥� and this year it was put on the agenda for the first time and approved.
Who puts in the money, how much and how it is to be distributed is yet to be figured out, Kerry said. He agreed with over something still so amorphous.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit pyrrhic until you have the full understanding of how it鈥檚 going to work,鈥� Kerry said, adding that it all still comes back to cutting carbon pollution that causes the disasters.
鈥淏ecause if you don鈥檛, you鈥檙e going to have an impossible equation where you simply can鈥檛 find enough money to take care鈥� of disaster victims, he said.
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Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press
