Kerry on Gates’ Criticism of Climate Doomsday Rhetoric: ‘Bad Things That Didn’t Happen’ ‘Are, In Fact, Happening’

On Tuesday’s “PBS NewsHour,” former Climate Envoy John Kerry responded to Bill Gates’ criticism of some of the language around climate change for being too apocalyptic by saying, “I don’t disagree with the fact that the terminology that has been used for years has run its course, I think.” But also arguing that “after all these years of the predictions of the bad things that didn’t happen that are, in fact, happening” right now.

“PBS NewsHour” Correspondent William Brangham asked, “Bill Gates, who you know has long been a champion of action on climate change, recently made a little bit of a pivot, arguing that we could innovate our way out of the climate crisis and that we should focus more on human health and protecting children and to deal with diseases. He also argued, seemingly, that some of the rhetoric around climate change, the, what he argued was too apocalyptic language, had harmed the movement overall. And I wonder what you think about that.”

Kerry responded, “Well, I understand exactly what he’s saying, and I don’t disagree with the fact that the terminology that has been used for years has run its course, I think. To some degree, the efforts to coalesce action to deal with the climate crisis [have] been tarnished by branding that has purposefully taken place to sort of make it seem like all people care about is ESG or it’s just a matter of wokeism. And that’s because not enough argument has been made, which I was just making, about the benefits to the economy and the strategic directions that people are taking on the planet. … [A]fter all these years of the predictions of the bad things that didn’t happen that are, in fact, happening now, storms, more intense, floods, fires, you name it, all predicted, and directly relatable to the climate impact, but we could be addressing all of those things if we were moving faster to create the jobs and pursue the technologies that will provide clean energy. And if we do that, we’re going to win.”

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