Kerry on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group 2 Report [View all]

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Release of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group 2 Report

Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC

March 30, 2014

Read this report and you can't deny the reality: Unless we act dramatically and quickly, science tells us our climate and our way of life are literally in jeopardy. Denial of the science is malpractice.

There are those who say we can’t afford to act. But waiting is truly unaffordable. The costs of inaction are catastrophic.

We can already see the damage it’s causing to our ecosystems, wildlife, glaciers, and countless other natural habitats. We can feel the impact of rising temperatures and sea level rise on vulnerable coastal areas. We know the security risks of water scarcity and flooding; widespread land and marine species extinction; and devastated crop yields in some of the poorest nations on earth.

No single country causes climate change, and no one country can stop it. But we need to match the urgency of our response with the scale of the science.　

The United States is meeting this challenge through President Obama’s Climate Action Plan and we’re committed to reaching an ambitious agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions with other countries in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The clock is ticking. The more we delay, the greater the threat. Let's make our political system wake up and let's make the world respond.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/03/224161.htm

Three weeks ago:

Jake Schmidt’s Blog

Secretary Kerry Makes Climate Change Top Priority in New Policy Directive: Some key actions to deliver on that policy

Secretary Kerry has just issued his first “Policy Directive” as U.S. Secretary of State. This new directive outlines that climate change is a central issue for the State Department and directs an “all hands on deck” approach to this issue. He rightly recognized that this will require strong action in the U.S., while helping spur global action. This is welcome sign that should ensure that all components of the U.S. diplomatic service are mobilized to help drive climate change action. His leadership will be critical on several key pending actions that can help deliver upon these new guidelines.

Working with the entire U.S. Administration Secretary Kerry can help deliver on these guidelines with a couple of key actions.

1. Reject KXL and other tar sands pipelines that will expand greenhouse gas emissions. The guidelines outline that the U.S. should: “Lead by example through strong action at home and abroad.” Keystone XL would cause an expansion of tar sands production and the associated greenhouse gas emissions (as my colleague pointed out). And tar sands expansion is helping Canada blow past its international commitment to address climate change. In its formal submission to the U.N. Canada acknowledged that it will fail to meet its commitment to cut its emissions 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. And tar sands expansion is the single biggest emissions growth in Canada so enabling these emissions would fail both the “act and home and abroad test” in the directive. Secretary Kerry should listen to the 2 million people urging him to reject Keystone XL.

2. Support strong domestic action to deliver on the U.S. Climate Action Plan to meet the target outlined in Copenhagen. Strong implementation of the Climate Action Plan will put the US on track to meet its commitment to cut emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020. Chief among these are the domestic actions that the US takes on power plant carbon pollution, reducing the “super-greenhouse gas” called HFCs, and methane leaks from oil and gas. Aggressive implementation of the Climate Action Plan would be a clear sign that call for “strong action at home” in the directive is on solid ground.

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4. Secure a global agreement in December 2015 and push for an “all hands on deck” approach to climate action. In December 2015 countries are set to agree on the next round of legal commitments to address climate change. We don’t have the luxury of “kicking the can down the road” so all countries must come prepared to make bold and decisive commitments to curb their own carbon pollution and mobilize investments in developing countries. The State Department directive recognizes this moment when it states: “negotiate a new, ambitious international climate agreement applicable to all countries by 2015 to take effect in 2020”. Secretary Kerry and his team will play a critical role in ensuring that the U.S. is prepared to act aggressively in this agreement. Countries have begun to outline some of their visions for this agreement (see Reuters on US proposals, Reuters on Chinese proposals, RTCC on EU’s proposals, and here for all of the submissions).

At the same time, Secretary Kerry clearly recognizes that we need an “all hands on deck” approach (his recent speech referred to it as a “you name it approach”) where countries are using all of the tools and available avenues to address climate change. This principle is already evident in the U.S. effort to support phasing down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol, supporting reducing black carbon reductions from dirty diesel and other sources, eliminating public funding of coal projects, and pushing for major companies to commit to eliminate deforestation from their supply-chain. Secretary Kerry can continue to lead this push, while also ensuring that the entire State Department operation is supporting climate action (not supporting more investments in climate destructive activities).

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http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jschmidt/secretary_kerry_makes_climate.html