Kerry sees US-China cooperation crucial in Climate crisis

The United States special envoy for the climate, John Kerry, said today that cooperation between the United States and China to curb the climate crisis and protect the environment is crucial and independent of the divisions of both on human rights.

“There is nothing more important than cooperation between the United States and China on climate,” Kerry said in an interview published this Saturday in the Italian daily “Corriere della Sera.”

Kerry has traveled to Rome to participate on Friday in a seminar on current economic, political and ethical challenges, organized by the Vatican, and during his visit to the Italian capital he has met with Prime Minister Mario Draghi and several ministers, and this Saturday has been received by Pope Francis.

Asked if the discrepancies in the matter of human rights can stop this cooperation in the environment with the Asian giant, Kerry hoped that it is not like that: “I hope not. Of course there are other critical issues, which I absolutely do not want. undervalue, each of them extraordinarily important, but we are committed to trying to maintain a separate climate path that does not involve tradeoffs on other issues,” he said.

“The climate is the climate, an issue in itself, we will not give in to anyone’s human rights or other aspects,” he said, while guaranteeing that China accepts it because it has declared that “one of the areas in which” can cooperate with Washington “it’s the weather.”

Kerry cited that in his trip to Rome he has addressed issues with the Executive such as digital transformation, ecological transition and the role of Italy in the rotating presidency of the G20 and as co-chair of COP26 (United Nations Conference on Climate Change 2021 ) to be held in November in Glasgow (UK).

Regarding the Joe Biden administration, Kerry said that he is studying lifting the ban on vaccine exports and “his desire is for it to happen as soon as possible, now that it is produced above domestic needs.”

This Saturday Kerry was received by Francisco in the Vatican, in the first meeting of Jorge Bergoglio with a high position of the Executive of Biden.