Kerry: U.S. must accelerate fossil fuel phaseout
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Kerry talks to Axios' Ben Geman. Photo: Sam Popp on behalf of Axios
The fossil fuel industry's push for natural gas and carbon capture technology is causing the world to fall short on climate goals, former presidential climate envoy John Kerry told Axios.
Why it matters: Recent global climate accords have dictated that countries need to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and slow the warming planet.
- "We're not doing that—we're not implementing," Kerry said Monday at Axios House Climate Week/UN General Assembly in New York City.
- He blamed a "massive movement in the fossil fuel industry right now" to brand natural gas as part of a green future when, in reality, methane emissions are 20 to 80 times more damaging to the climate than CO2, he said.
Between the lines: The debate over the role of natural gas has becoming a political lightning rod in the 2024 election, which could hinge on winning the gas-rich battleground state of Pennsylvania.
- Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, reversed her previous support for a fracking ban.
- Natural gas production has grown over the last two decades to displace coal-fired power; gas now accounts for more than 40% of U.S. electricity generation.
- A wave of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals eye exporting U.S. produced gas to other countries.
Kerry acknowledged gas can be a very short-term clean fuel option when transitioning away from coal or oil.
- But new gas infrastructure risks become stranded assets in 30-40 years when the world is supposed to have moved on from fossil fuels, he said.
He also threw cold water on the likelihood of carbon capture ever reaching a point in which fossil fuels could burn cleanly.
- "Anybody I've talked to has the deepest doubts about the ability to get to scale and make it affordable so it's competitive with the things we already know how to do," Kerry said.
- The energy industry should harness progress on wind, solar and large-scale battery storage. Investment in clean energy recently outpaced fossil fuel, he pointed out.
The bottom line: Large-emitting countries are "not doing anywhere near our share" of addressing climate change, Kerry said.
