“The climate crisis is the test of our own times, and while some may still believe it is unfolding in slow motion, no,” said Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. "What we’re looking at is a world no parent would ever be content to leave behind as an inheritance for future generations."
“Facts, evidence, and science all make clear that we have a narrow window to avoid that future. We can still avoid it. But we have to begin to act with genuine urgency, bringing countries all across this planet together.”
It’s time to “mount a response that is comparable to wartime mobilization, a massive opportunity to rebuild our economies after COVID-19, to ‘Build Better,’” said Mr. Kerry.
And the biggest step of all is scaling up the development of a global clean energy economy, because energy accounts for three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions.
“By 2030, we have to speed up the deployment of the clean technologies that we already have,” said Mr. Kerry. This means quadrupling the production of renewable energy from solar and wind. It means that over half of the new cars sold must be electric.
"We must also develop, demonstrate, and scale up emerging technologies during this decade so that they can play a major role in decarbonizing the global economy by 2050.”
“By 2040, we should have entirely phased out all unabated coal and unabated oil plants and sharply reduced reliance on unabated natural gas generation,” said Mr. Kerry.
“The good news, my friends, is that the proof is all around us that we can do it. Clean energy technologies are already cheaper than fossil fuels – and we have a playbook to do the same thing across many other emerging clean technologies.”
Mr. Kerry said, “There is still time to put a safer 1.5-degree Centigrade future back within reach.
But only if every major economy commits to meaningful reductions by 2030, that is the only way to put the world on a credible track to global net zero by midcentury.”
