John Kerry claims that people would feel better about the war in Ukraine if Russia would make a greater effort to reduce emissions
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry discusses the Russian-Ukraine war at the foreign press briefing on March 5 in Washington, D.C.
As he stepped down from his climate advisor position on Wednesday, John Kerry frustrated several social media users after appearing to suggest Russia could better its public image by cutting emissions.
Kerry reflected on his time as the first U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate after President Biden created the position in 2021. His comments included his disappointment that Russia ultimately chose to wage an "unprovoked, illegal war" rather than offer solutions to combat climate change.
"I believe that Russia has the ability to be able to make enormous changes in what they really want to do. I mean, if Russia has the ability to wage a war illegally and invade another country, they ought to find the effort to be responsible on the climate issue. Unfortunately, because of the actions that Russia took in an unprovoked, illegal war against another nation, we have not been engaged in discussions with Russia," Kerry said.
John Kerry was originally appointed as Biden's Special Envoy for Climate in 2021. (AIM for Climate Summit)
"Sadly, and I say sadly, obviously, because it’s a loss for the world not to be able to have Russia acting constructively on this issue, but we need every country, including Russia," he continued. "Russia is one of the largest emitters in the world. If Russia wanted to show good faith, they could go out and announce what their reductions are going to be and make a greater effort to reduce emissions. Maybe that would open up the door for people to feel better about what Russia is choosing to do at this point in time."
STEFANIK: 'WHAT IS JOHN KERRY ACTUALLY DOING' AS BIDEN 'CLIMATE CZAR'?
Kerry’s claim that people would "feel better" about Russia if it cut emissions was quickly dubbed "embarrassing beyond words."
"I had to listen to this three times to make sure Kerry really said this. And he did. Embarrassing beyond words, and quite frankly, utterly offensive!" International Legal Forum CEO Arsen Ostrovsky wrote in response to one account summarizing Kerry's words as "John Kerry says people would 'feel better' about the war in Ukraine if Russia would 'make a greater effort to reduce emissions.'"
"This administration is a comedy skit," Republican strategist Caleb Hull remarked.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, agreed, "At this point, the Biden admin is like a continuous SNL skit."
"These people are raving lunatics," Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., declared.
Radio host Buck Sexton similarly commented, "The insane gibberish of a climate fanatic."
"The scary thing is that I actually believe him," Washington Free Beacon reporter Joe Gabriel Simonson said.
Conservative pundit Ian Haworth wrote, "I’d feel better about John Kerry if he made a greater effort to reduce his emissions."
"That will do it, folks. Thank you John Kerry," conservative commentator Steve Guest posted.
John Kerry made similar comments regarding the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. (Photographer: Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
JOHN KERRY FEARS RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR WILL DISTRACT FROM CLIMATE CHANGE
In 2022, Kerry made similar comments after Russia originally invaded Ukraine, mourning that the war would negatively impact the environment.
"…Massive emissions consequences to the war, but equally importantly you're going to lose people's focus. You're going to lose, certainly, big country attention because they will be diverted, and I think it could have a damaging impact," Kerry said in an interview on BBC Arabic.
"So, you know, hopefully I think President Putin would realize that in the northern part of his country, they used to live on – 66% percent of a nation that was over frozen land. Now it's thawing and his infrastructure is at risk and the people of Russia are at risk," he added. "And so I hope President Putin will help us to stay on track with respect to what we need to do for the climate."
John Kerry stepped down as Biden's Special Envoy for Climate on Wednesday. (Foreign Press Center)