US envoy in stark warning over climate change crisis

JOHN Kerry has warned that the trillions poured into fossil fuel subsidies is the ‘definition of insanity’ as he urged more efforts to tackle the climate crisis.

The US special presidential envoy on climate told the Net Zero Delivery Summit in London that energy could continue to be ‘weaponised’ as it had been by Russia, and capital was needed to move faster to clean, secure technology. The summit organised by the City of London Corporation in association with the Cop26 UK presidency comes halfway between the Glasgow climate summit last November and the next round of major UN talks, Cop27, in Egypt.

It is looking at delivering on measures to cut emissions to net zero and how the finance sector can mobilise capital to tackle the climate crisis. Mr Kerry urged financial leaders to invest in the new future that he said was going to be driven by the ‘new energy economy’.

“The spoils are going to go to the people who get in early and get in with these investments and make these things happen,” he said.

He said the world could win the battle to limit temperature rises and avoid the worst consequences of climate change but more had to be done. He said: “It’s absolutely critical that we recognise that we can’t allow energy to be weaponised in the way President (Vladimir) Putin has tried to weaponise it.

“He can’t control the sun, and the wind, and he can’t control these new technologies that are coming online.

“I think if any lesson has been learned by Europe as a result of this disgraceful war that is taking place, the lesson is we have to move faster to de-weaponise energy.”