Bipartisan bloc aims to convince people that rapid action is required to halt carbon emissions within 30 years
John Kerry launches coalition to fight climate crisis: ‘We are way behind’
Bipartisan bloc aims to convince people that rapid action is required to halt carbon emissions within 30 yearswww.theguardian.com/...
Former US secretary of state and Democratic senator John Kerry has launched a new coalition of power-brokers, including top politicians, military leaders, and Hollywood celebrities, to fight for addressing the climate crisis.
This coalition – named World War Zero, in reference to the national security danger presented by global heating – aims to convince people that rapid mobilization is required to halt the increase in carbon emissions within 30 years. According to United Nations scientists, global carbon emissions must be halved by 2030 – and eliminated completely by 2050 – to restrict warming to comparatively safe levels.
The US and China are the top polluters in the world. While other countries are working to bolster the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate, Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from the pact.
The bipartisan bloc includes Democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, as well as moderate Republicans such as former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the New York Times reported. Celebrities such as Sting, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ashton Kutcher are also among the some 60 original members, the newspaper said. Participants might favor particular policy approaches to cutting emissions – such as a carbon dioxide tax or federal environmental programs – but the group is not touting any specific initiative.
During a Sunday morning appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press, host Chuck Todd asked Kerry whether the real issue was getting Trump to act on climate – rather than raising awareness.
“Well it’s not just the president, Chuck. There are great efforts out there, many environmental groups, young people, particularly, but no country is getting the job done,” Kerry said. “I mean, the simple reality is that we are way behind, way behind the 8-ball. Things are getting worse, not better. And so we have our unlikely allies coming together here.”
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“There’s no group that has people as diverse as ours in terms of nationality, age, gender, ideology, background, life experience and all of these people have come together saying, we’ve got to treat this like a war,” Kerry continued.
“But with the desire to make certain that in America and around the world, people are going to put this issue way up at the top of the list. We’re going to do the things we need to do, we’re going to organize, we’re going to mobilize, we’re going to talk to literally millions of Americans over the course of the next months, and this is going to become a primary issue.”