U.S. climate envoy John Kerry signaled Tuesday that the energy crisis brought on by the war in Ukraine should not be used as a reason to backslide into dependence on fossil fuels.
Kerry told the World Economic Forum that there was a way to strike a balance of resupplying Europe with gas that has been cut off by Russia and other immediate increased energy needs while continuing to invest in renewable energy and stay on pace to slash emissions in the coming years. [bold, links added]
“We should not allow a false narrative to be created that what has happened in Ukraine somehow obviates the need to move forward and address the climate crisis,” Kerry said during a panel on energy transition, as reported by the Associated Press.
Energy prices have skyrocketed, propelled [in part] by the conflict in Ukraine, causing global supply disruptions as countries placed sanctions against Russia, a major oil and gas producer.
“No one should believe that the crisis of Ukraine is an excuse to suddenly build out the old kind of infrastructure that we had. … We have to be much smarter than that, given the stakes,” Kerry said, according to Reuters.
“We cannot be seduced into believing that this suddenly is an open door to going back and doing what we were doing which created the crisis in the first place.”
Kerry warned that rapid investment in clean energy infrastructure was crucial going forward to push the world back from a tipping point that could lead to the global temperature rising by 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“If we make the right choices here, we can win all of these battles: We can do what we need to do with respect to Ukraine. We can do what we need to do with respect to the climate crisis,” Kerry said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck a different tone Tuesday, saying that the European Union’s 27-nation bloc should immediately make moves to cut its dependency on fossil fuels while addressing the “costs and consequences of Putin’s war of choice.”
“Countering Russia’s aggression is a task for the entire global community. Ukraine must win this war, and Putin’s aggression must be a strategic failure,” von der Leyen said.
Read more at Examiner
Hey John, don’t trip over all those bodies of innocent grandmothers and children in Ukraine while you’re on your way to move forward and address the climate “crisis”. FOOL !
First things first Kerry you take up living in a Grass hut and quit flying all over the globe in a Private jet then lets talk about Hyporacy