Former United States Secretary of State John Kerry has been appointed the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate by President Joe Biden. In 2019 he traveled to Iceland to receive the Arctic Circle award for climate leadership but he chose to get there in his private jet.
Kerry received an award at the event for being “a consistent voice pressuring the American authorities to commit to tackle environmental matters.”
Kerry defended his pollution-causing ride at the time saying it was “the only choice for somebody like me who is traveling the world to win this battle.”
Leader of the Arctic Circle Roundtable, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson criticized Kerry for arriving at the event in a private jet.
An Icelandic reporter confronted Kerry during the event over his travel choices, asking, “I understand that you came here with a private jet. Is that an environmental way to travel?”
Kerry tried to justify his transportation method claiming it was the only way.
“If you offset your carbon – it’s the only choice for somebody like me who is traveling the world to win this battle,” he said.
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Kerry then tried to sidestep the issue by reminding the reporter of his accomplishments.
“I negotiated the Paris Accords for the United States,” he pointed out, referring to the multilateral climate agreement signed during his time as secretary of state under the Obama administration.
“I’ve been involved with this fight for years. I negotiated with [Chinese] President Xi to bring President Xi to the table so we could get Paris. And, I believe, the time it takes me to get somewhere, I can’t sail across the ocean. I have to fly, meet with people and get things done,” Kerry added.
“But, what I’m doing, almost full time,” he continued, “is working to win the battle on climate change, and in the end, if I offset and contribute my life to do this, I’m not going to be put on the defensive.”
It has been estimated that private jets emit over 40 times as much carbon per passenger as commercial flights.
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