U.S. climate envoy John Kerry refused to consider the idea of climate reparations for developing countries that have been disproportionately affected by climate change.
Kerry made the remarks during a congressional hearing on the State Department’s climate agenda.
A contentious exchange occurred between Kerry and Rep. Scott Perry, who cast doubt on the scientific consensus on climate change and other Republicans on the panel questioned how the U.S. could lead in reducing emissions without cooperation from other big polluters such as China and India, both of which are developing nations.
Scientists say the first two weeks of July were the planet’s hottest on human record as intense heat waves grip places around the world, which makes Perry’s dismissal of global warming almost ludicrous, as punishing heat waves break records and disrupt life across much of the planet.
Kerry, a former U.S. secretary of state, was asked during a hearing before a House of Representatives foreign affairs oversight subcommittee whether the U.S. would contribute to a fund that would pay countries that have been damaged by floods, storms, and other climate-driven disasters.
When asked by U.S. Representative Brian Mast, the Republican chair of the subcommittee, if the United States would be willing to pay reparations to developing countries, Kerry said “under no circumstances.”
Kerry’s remarks have been met with criticism from climate activists, who argue that the United States has a moral obligation to help developing countries that have been harmed by climate change.
“The United States is the world’s largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases,” said Jeff Ordower, North America director of 350.org. “We have a responsibility to help those who have been most affected by the climate crisis.”
“We are disappointed and angered by this news, but not surprised, because U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry’s words are just the latest example of Kerry and the U.S. refusing to back up their vague claims for U.S. support in global climate progress with real, substantive action,” said Ordower. “We were cautiously optimistic that COP27 had opened the door for real progress on loss and damage, and also for wealthier Global North nations—like the U.S., which is one of the largest emitters globally and bears the largest responsibility for accelerating climate chaos across the globe—to help take accountability for the disproportionate and irreparable harm they have caused in Global South communities.”
“Again and again, Kerry and Biden have tried to walk a tightrope of limited culpability: they talk a big game about ‘interconnected nations’ and ‘the need for a fossil fuel phasedown,’ but so far when it comes time to create actual mechanisms or pay into funds for damage, adaptation, and reparations, or put their words into practice that might actually be meaningful for the Global South communities facing historic and deadline climate impacts every day, they shy away,” said Ordower.
Ordower said, “350.org will not stop advocating for U.S. leadership that truly takes accountability for the outsized role the U.S. plays in the climate crisis. That includes loss and damage. That includes climate reparations. That includes actual sacrifice and action that reflects the reality that our reluctance to stop catering to fossil fuel profit has jeopardized the lives of millions if not billions.”
Kerry’s refusal to consider climate reparations comes at a time when the issue is gaining increasing attention.
In recent months, a number of countries, including France and Germany, have called for the creation of a fund to help developing countries adapt to climate change.
The United States has not yet committed to any financial assistance for climate adaptation.
However, Kerry has said that the United States is “committed to working with other countries to find a solution.”
It remains to be seen whether the United States will be willing to reconsider its position on climate reparations, but Kerry’s remarks have guaranteed that the issue is likely to be a major point of contention in future climate negotiations.
Kerry’s remarks have often been met with criticism from climate activists.
Influential activist Greta Thunberg and prominent climate scientist Michael Mann were among several who criticized comments Kerry made in 2021 about how much new technology is needed to fight global warming.
Kerry defended the choice of a fossil fuel executive to run the next round of climate talks when Thunberg and others raised an alarm about Sultan Al Jaber, the chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company who was selected as the president of Cop28.
Earlier this year, Kerry defended business and government leaders who travel to high-profile climate summits on gas-guzzling private jets. Kerry said global elites flying private jets to fight climate change are “working harder than most people I know to be able to try to effect this transition.”
The issue of climate reparations is gaining increasing attention. The United States has not yet committed to any financial assistance for climate adaptation.
Kerry turned heads with a speech at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in which he called himself and his fellow attendees a “select group” with an “almost extraterrestrial” plan to save the planet.
The U.S. has supported the establishment of a funding mechanism to address the “loss and damage” incurred by vulnerable countries as a result of major or recurring disasters, which was agreed upon at the COP27 conference in Egypt last November, but the agreement did not specify who would contribute to the fund or how money would be distributed.
Countries delivered a package of resolutions at COP27 that reiterated their commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.
The package also enhanced governments’ efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the unavoidable effects of climate change, as well as increasing financial, technological, and capacity-building assistance to developing countries.
Governments decided to create new funding mechanisms, as well as a dedicated fund, to help poor nations deal to loss and damage. Governments also agreed to form a “transitional committee” to provide recommendations on how to put both new funding arrangements into action.
However, it sounds better than it looks in practice. Rich countries have long opposed the creation of a fund to address loss and damage and many policymakers fear that accepting liability could trigger a wave of lawsuits by countries on the frontlines of the climate emergency.
The United States and other global powers lobbied for the amendment of a footnote that would rule out the possibility of accountability for historic emitters or compensation for countries damaged by disasters.
Climate change is sustaining and deepening socioeconomic imbalances, particularly impacting the most vulnerable and the poorest, and will increasingly drive migration, political and social unrest, cross-border violence, famine, and poverty.
“Between 2010 and 2019, the United States experienced 119 climate disasters that each caused damages of $1 billion or more. That’s more than double the previous decade,” said Alice Madden, Policy and Political Director at Greenpeace USA.
“The consequences of the climate crisis are wreaking havoc on our health and our economy,” said Madden. “We have many options to tackle it by transitioning to a clean energy economy that will create up to 25 million good-paying jobs across every zip code in America, jump-starting the economic recovery and positioning America to compete in a world that runs on clean technologies, not fossil fuels.”