John Kerry’s recent claim in an interview with the Guardian that the United States is a force for good in tackling the climate crisis, despite soaring growth in fossil fuels, demonstrates that he fundamentally misunderstands the problem (John Kerry: US committed to tackling climate crisis despite fossil fuel growth, 4 March). The International Energy Agency made it clear: to reach net zero by 2050 the world can afford no new fossil fuel expansion. And yet the United States is by far the largest producer of oil and gas in the world – responsible for one in five barrels of oil and gas extracted globally in 2022 – and has the largest plans for fossil fuel expansion in the world.
President Joe Biden’s recent pause on new liquefied natural gas export authorisations is an important step toward reining in expansion. However, the pause does not go far enough to address the massive expansion of fossil fuels in the US causing the climate crisis and serious health and safety impacts on communities living nearby. If the US wants to be the climate leader that Kerry thinks it is, it’s time our leadership takes real action to stop fossil fuel expansion and lead a just transition off fossil fuels.
Allie Rosenbluth
US campaign manager, Oil Change International
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