John Kerry News

Dubai, US special envoy John Kerry admitted that he thought it might never happen. The seasoned international negotiator recalled a conversation with one minister who worried about a deal that would signal the end of fossil fuels. «One minister from one of those countries involved said, 'John, you can't ask us to commit economic suicide',» Kerry said. He did not name the country but Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, led the charge against any strong language against fossil fuels. Kuwait and Iraq were also staunch opponents. In the end, nearly 200 countries adopted on Wednesday a deal stating that the world will be «transitioning away from fossil fuels» in order to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. It was the first time in the 28-year history of the Conference of the Parties that all fossil fuels were mentioned in an accord. «I never thought we were going to have the kind of breadth that we have today, to be honest with you,» Kerry said on Wednesday.

Obama administration and then-Secretary of State John Kerry, who helped in derailing and obstructing an ongoing FBI investigation into Iranian terrorists and stopping due arrests to protect the nuclear deal.

Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced financier and convicted offender, files were made public by the Justice Department on Thursday after Attorney General Pam Bondi pledged to do so. The US DOJ made public a 200-page document that included flight logs, Jeffrey Epstein's contact details, and other documents that marked the much-anticipated release of Jeffrey Epstein’s contact list revealing names of celebrities, politicians, and business figures, according to a report by The NY Post. «This Department of Justice is delivering on President Trump's pledge to openness and revealing the heinous deeds of Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplices,» Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement, as per a report.

State Department's Diwali reception, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasised the significance of the festival and reflected on the tradition's decade-long history at the State Department, which began under Secretary John Kerry. He also highlighted Diwali's message by quoting Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore's words: «Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.» The remarks by Blinken came as he addressed the Diwali reception on Friday.

Kamala Harris. She is continuing to receive support from all quarters even as she raised more than $200 million within a span of 24 hours since Biden’s announcement. She is emerging as the front runner to receive the presidential nomination from the ruling party.

Vienna, Jan 19, 2024 -The Swiss watch that got Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger in trouble with German custom officials has been sold for 270,000 euros ($290,000), the actor's charity said Friday. The action hero-turned-environmental campaigner was held at Munich airport Wednesday for failing to declare the bespoke Audemars Piguet timepiece that was being auctioned for his climate charity. Schwarzenegger called his brush with the law a «wild experience» at the charity dinner Thursday where the watch was auctioned, cracking raunchy jokes about a female official who he said «was going to put me in handcuffs», according to a video posted on entertainment website TMZ. «Usually I pay $500 for that,» said the 76-year-old actor, a former governor of California. Schwarzenegger was held for three hours, according to the German media, before being allowed to take the watch to the dinner. The fundraiser for his Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative was held across the border in his native Austria in the Alpine resort of Kitzbuehel, with US climate envoy John Kerry said to be among the guests. «The world's most famous watch was auctioned off for 270,000 euros,» the charity said Friday. «Arnold Schwarzenegger's customs adventure had a happy ending,» it added. Duty should have been paid on the watch because Schwarzenegger was intending to sell it in the European Union, German customs spokesman Thomas Meister said.

Like over-caffeinated college students, Sultan Al Jaber, John Kerry and other CoP-28 delegates pulled an all-nighter to turn what could have been an ‘F’ grade on a global climate deal into a respectable ‘C.’ Still, in their scramble to produce a historic pact, they left a glaring omission that could doom the whole enterprise in the longer run. They ignored the money constraint. Give credit where it’s due: The end product of this year’s UN climate conclave, an agreement that the world needs to stop using fossil fuels, was the first of its kind and a drastic improvement over most CoPs, which are usually failures.

electrification drive in India's transport sector one of the most significant opportunities, US Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry on Saturday said the quicker India pursues this initiative, the more it mitigates greenhouse gas emissions, leading to a reduction in pollution and enhancement of the country's overall security. Kerry said embracing rapid electrification not only aligns with environmental goals but also contributes to a cleaner, more sustainable, and secure future for the country.

The United States will work with other governments to speed up efforts to make nuclear fusion a new source of carbon-free energy, U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry said Tuesday, while in Dubai for U.N. climate talks

United States led calls at UN climate talks Saturday for efforts to curb methane emissions but also pushed a deeply controversial drive to boost nuclear energy to curb global warming. With smoggy skies in Dubai highlighting the challenges facing the world, other pledges are expected at the COP28 conference, including stepping up the deployment of renewable energy. The use of nuclear power as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels is highly controversial as environmental groups are concerned about safety and the disposal of nuclear waste. But more than 20 nations ranging from the US to Ghana, Japan and several European countries said in a declaration that it plays a «key role» in the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by mid-century. They called for the tripling of nuclear energy capacity by 2050 from 2020 levels. «We are not making the argument to anybody that this is absolutely going to be a sweeping alternative to every other energy source,» US climate envoy John Kerry said at COP28. «But we know because (of) the science and the reality of facts… that you can't get to net zero 2050 without some nuclear,» he said. The other signatories include Britain, France, South Korea, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates.

By David Stanway and Valerie Volcovici

The US will lead a push at the COP28 climate summit to triple the amount of installed nuclear power capacity globally by 2050, marking a major turnaround for the controversial technology at the climate negotiations.

Georgia, the first nuclear reactors built from scratch in the United States in more than 30 years illustrate the enormous promise of nuclear power — and its most glaring weakness. The two new reactors at the Vogtle nuclear power plant will join two older units to create enough electricity to power 2 million homes, 24 hours a day, without emitting any of the carbon dioxide that is dangerously heating the planet. But those colossal reactors cost $35 billion, more than double the original estimates, and arrived seven years behind schedule. That's why no one else is planning to build large reactors in the United States. Instead, the great hope for the future of nuclear power is to go small. Nearly a dozen companies are developing reactors that are a fraction of the size of those at Vogtle, betting that they will be quicker and cheaper to build.

The German government says developed countries have pledged $9.3 billion to help poor nations tackle climate change

COP28 climate talks told an Abu Dhabi oil conference on Monday that the fossil fuel industry would play an essential role in addressing the climate crisis. «For too long, this industry has been viewed as part of the problem, that it's not doing enough and in some cases even blocking progress,» said Sultan Al Jaber, the president-designate of the COP28 talks, who is also the head of UAE state-owned oil firm ADNOC. «This is your opportunity to show the world that, in fact, you are central to the solution,» he told the ADIPEC conference of global industry figures and government officials. «This industry can change the global debate… It is time to silence the sceptics by applying scale, capital and technology to deliver outcomes.» Jaber urged industry leaders to curb emissions associated with energy production and expand use of renewable energy sources. He also encouraged them to embrace «low carbon solutions» like carbon capture and storage, tools that climate experts say distract from the urgent goal of slashing fossil fuel pollution. Climate activists have criticised the appointment of Jaber to lead the COP28 talks which kick off next month in Dubai.

SINGAPORE—China’s top diplomat was set to begin a four-day visit to Russia after a surprise stopover in Malta for weekend talks with White House officials, as Beijing lays the groundwork for separate meetings between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his U.S. and Russian counterparts.

The host of the first Africa Climate Summit says climate change is “relentlessly eating away” at Africa’s economic progress and it’s time to have a global conversation about a carbon tax on polluters

renewable energy and storage solutions, support the deployment of zero-emission buses, and diversify clean energy supply chains. "In Chennai, Secretary Kerry will attend the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministers Meeting," the statement read. Notably, the G-20's environment and climate sustainability ministers will meet on July 28 in Chennai.

By Valerie Volcovici and David Stanway

BEIJING — Henry Kissinger, a former U.S. secretary of State, met with China's defense minister, Li Shangfu, in Beijing on Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement.

China's economy was on track to recover relatively quickly after being closed off to the world during the pandemic. Consumers were spending again. Exports picked up.