Kerry: ‘China Is Doing a Lot More than People Think’ on Making Renewables

During an interview with CNN International aired on Wednesday’s “First Move,” Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry stated that while China should do more to move away from coal, “China is doing a lot more than people think in trying to deploy renewables, manufacture the renewables.”

Kerry stated, “Well, we should be hopeful, certainly. No, the world cannot get to where we have to get to to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis without China being there and being helpful. Now, we’re engaged, again, in conversations with China. I’m encouraged. I think China is doing a lot more than people think in trying to deploy renewables, manufacture the renewables. We’d like to see more in terms of moving away from coal and so forth. But we have to work together. We have to work together with an ability to recognize our common responsibility and to come to the table and help the rest of the world. And if China and the United States can move on some of these things right now in these next months, that will make a gigantic difference. It’s one of the top things that one should try to achieve, because it will accelerate action by everybody else and it will facilitate that transformation. It will also help a lot of people in various parts of the world who are suspicious of what China is doing or not doing to see that China is there, is part of the solution, not the problem and at least addressing the problem in a very serious way. And that would help everybody.”

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