NEW YORK — Secretary of State John Kerry said climate change “ranks right up there” with global challenges such as terrorism, poverty and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
“When you think about terrorism, which we think about a lot today; poverty, which is linked obviously to the levels of terror that we see in the world today; and, of course, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction — all of these are challenges that don’t know any borders. And that’s exactly what climate change is,” Kerry said Monday at the opening event for New York City Climate Week.
Kerry’s comments come on the eve of the United Nations climate summit, where 120-plus heads of state including President Obama, will meet to discuss global warming. The conference is designed to build momentum ahead of formal negotiations next year in Paris, which is viewed as a last chance to secure enough carbon-cutting commitments by 2020 to avoid a global 2 degrees Celsius temperature rise by 2100. Most scientists blame global warming on carbon-emitting greenhouse gases created primarily by burning fossil fuels.
Obama has positioned his climate agenda, which includes a proposal to slash electricity emissions 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, as a way to leverage pledges from other countries. Observers will be watching this week to see if U.S. officials can convert fanciful rhetoric, such as that from Kerry, into tangible action.
The U.S. was notably absent from a World Bank announcement Monday of 73 national and 11 regional governments that lent support to putting a price on carbon, though California joined the effort. Countries such as China, Russia and the European Union also lent support to a carbon price.
That the U.S. didn’t sign onto the pledge is partly a reflection of domestic politics. Conservatives and industry groups have fiercely opposed putting a price on carbon emissions, saying doing so would handicap the economy if other nations don’t follow suit.
But it also underscores the difficult position the Obama administration is in when it comes to securing a climate pact.
The White House is reportedly seeking a “politically binding” accord that wouldn’t require Senate ratification, knowing it’s unlikely to get 67 votes from the upper chamber. But other nations, including the EU, have said only a legally binding, international pact would suffice and bring the kind of accountability needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Kerry said he would put his weight behind securing an agreement.
“The United States is prepared to take the lead in order to bring other nations to the table. And as secretary of state, I promise you I am personally committed to making sure that this is front and center in all of our diplomatic efforts,” Kerry said.
Todd Stern, the State Department’s top climate negotiator, told reporters last week that whatever deal the U.S. pursues will be binding in some way, but that it’s too early to say what it would be.
“It’s way premature to be speculating about approval processes within the U.S.,” he said.
