Kerry in Rome: climate crisis needs ‘multiple approach’

“There is not a single thing that can solve the climate crisis. We need a multiple approach,” said US special envoy for climate, John Kerry, who on Thursday met with Italy’s foreign and ecological ministers, as well as with CEOs of the country’s major energy companies in Rome.

Kerry is set to meet with Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Friday. Kerry’s European visit will also involve trying to convince the signatories of the 2015 Paris Agreement to update their CO2 emission reduction targets ahead of the COP26 UN Climate Summit, which will be held in Glasgow in November and co-organised by the UK and Italy.

The US has pledged to reduce greenhouse gases by 50-52% by 2030, and wants to push other countries to make similar commitments.

“Every country must reduce emissions in this decade”, said Kerry, aiming remarks at China and Russia which did not make specific commitments during the online summit convened in April by US President Joe Biden. “It is not enough to say ‘zero emissions in 2050’, do the things now that will make it possible to get to what we need in 2050”, Kerry added.

“The ecological transition is not a choice between prosperity and a less functioning economy, but it is an opportunity, a huge opportunity to be seized”, Kerry added. (Daniele Lettig | EURACTIV.it)