John Kerry encourages U.S. to reach out to China to work together on climate change

As soon as Joe Biden became president, he came up with a position for John Kerry in his administration, that of U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. While Congress investigates exactly what the duties of the new position are, Kerry called on the US government to reach out to China to fight climate change together.

Speaking to MSNBC, the former senator and secretary of state encouraged both countries to work together. “There’s no way that any one country can solve this crisis. [...] It is imperative that China and the United States find a way to cooperate with respect to the climate crisis," he said.

Although he explicitly called for a rapprochement, he did not ignore the existing tensions between the two powers. “I’m not glossing over any issue whatsoever that we have with China. There are real issues, serious ones, and a whole bunch of them. But … we have a clock that’s ticking on climate more immediately. And we have an imperative to try and move," he added.

Kerry also revealed that Joe Biden and Xi Jinping had previously agreed to handle the climate issue separately and that heightened tensions over Taiwan cooled the dialogue between the leaders. “Sometimes things have just crept in and gotten in the way. My hope is, because it’s imperative for the planet, that China … helps work with the United States. And it’s not a question of the U.S. giving away something. It’s a question of all of us getting something together by cooperating," continued the 2004 Democratic nominee for president.

What is John Kerry doing in the Biden Administration?

It appears that Kerry's job consists of traveling the world in a private jet, giving speeches about climate change and encouraging other governments to abandon fossil fuels. Congress began to investigate the role in January 2023, when the GOP regained the majority in the House of Representatives.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent a letter to Kerry demanding information and documents about his office in general. In addition, he was asked to clarify his ties with the Communist Party of China (CCP).

The congressman wrote that “we are left with an insufficient understanding of your office’s activities, spending, and staffing,” while requesting information to “enable long overdue oversight of your office".

Comer, who has represented Kentucky's 1st District in the House since 2016, wants to bring another focus to the committee he now chairs. As he wrote in a statement, he seeks "be transparent with the media in everything that we’re doing. I believe that the Committee needs to get back to its primary mission to root out waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the federal government."

“To date, you have failed to respond to any of our requests. Yet, you continue to engage in activities that could undermine our economic health, skirt congressional authority, and threaten foreign policy under the guise of climate advocacy," the Republican remarked in an interview.