In swing through Europe, John Kerry aims to boost climate action

(The Washington Post, 10 Mar 2021) ‘What we’re trying to do is raise the ambition of many countries, of all countries,’ the White House climate envoy says in interview.

The pandemic has meant very few diplomatic trips in the early days of the Biden administration. But this week brought an exception, as White House climate envoy John F. Kerry hopped a commercial flight to meet masked face to masked face with allies in London, Brussels and Paris.

“What we’re trying to do is raise the ambition of many countries, of all countries,” the former U.S. Secretary of State said from Paris on Wednesday. “Because we’ve been absent for four years and there’s been an absence of any dialogue on climate — and these countries have all been basically dissed over these last four years — President Biden thought it was important for us to be able to conduct this essential personal diplomacy at this point in time.”

Kerry aims to demonstrate that the United States not only has rejoined the international effort to slow global warming, but also wants to lead other signatories in realizing the central aims of the 2015 Paris climate accord. Even as the Biden administration has promised to take significant steps at home, it also wants to persuade other major economies, such as China and India, to move more aggressively to cut their carbon emissions.

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The Washington Post, 10 Mar 2021: In swing through Europe, John Kerry aims to boost climate action

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