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Self-avowed ‘militant’ John Kerry demands no coal plants be ‘permitted anywhere in the world’

December 4, 2023 | | Print Article

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry  punctuated his “militant” stand on the environment by demanding the elimination of all coal plants “anywhere in the world.”

Kerry delivered his radical comments at the COP28, the 28th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) on Sunday, which President Joe Biden opted to skip.

“Now, we don’t need that necessarily to tell us we ought to be transitioning out of coal. There shouldn’t be any more coal-fired power plants permitted anywhere in the world,” Biden’s climate czar said of permits for coal power plants during the “Health Day” session, aimed at shining a light  on the so-called connections between health and climate crises.

“That’s how you can do something for health. And the reality is that we’re not doing it,” Kerry told those gathered.

“I find myself getting more and more militant because I do not understand how adults who are in positions of responsibility can be avoiding responsibility for taking away those things that are killing people on a daily basis,” he added to some applause.

“The reality is the climate crisis and the health crisis are one and the same,” Kerry continued at the Dubai conference.

The U.S. under the Biden administration joined an anti-coal pact called the Power Past Coal Alliance, uniting with over 50 other nations to eliminate existing coal plants.

“To meet our goal of 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035, we need to phase out unabated coal,” Kerry said in a statement.

“We will be working to accelerate unabated coal phase-out across the world, building stronger economies and more resilient communities,” Kerry, who has no scientific training in climate matters, added in his statement. “The first step is to stop making the problem worse: stop building new unabated coal power plants.”

Kerry, who has been repeatedly called out on social media for his hypocrisy, again earned rebukes for arriving at a climate conference in a fuel-burning jet.

Vice President Kamala Harris came under fire for the same bad optics.

Meanwhile, Republican senators addressed Kerry’s climate stance and “China’s abuse of the international climate system.”

“China is acting within, and taking advantage of, the international framework you helped create—the Paris Agreement. The Chinese coal plants to which you object now power mines and refineries producing critical minerals. They drive factories building solar panels, wind turbines, and electric batteries and cars that the Biden Administration wants to force Americans to buy,” wrote Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), ranking member of the ENR Subcommittee on Energy,

“In 2015, you called this treaty ‘the turning point in the fight against climate change.’ Far from a turning point, it represented little more than business as usual. It gave China a free ride—which you now seem to regret,” they continued in the letter to Kerry.

“Instead of pushing back against Chinese duplicity, President Biden and you have focused on surrendering one of America’s greatest geopolitical advantages—affordable, abundant, reliable energy—while making us more dependent on China. It need not be this way,” the GOP lawmakers added.

“China is bent on global domination. It is the world’s second-largest economy and largest emitter of greenhouse gases. It is America’s chief economic and geopolitical rival. It exploits forced labor. It manipulates global markets. It steals our technology. It is building hypersonic missiles and a blue-water navy. It should not get special treatment in international climate agreements. There should be no more free rides for China. That should be non-negotiable,” they concluded.

Social media users dragged Kerry for his alarming call to eliminate coal plants at the climate summit.

Frieda Powers
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