On December 9, 2022, John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, spoke on “The Urgency of Global Climate Action.” A video of the lecture is available on the US-UK Fulbright Commission’s website.

Secretary Kerry’s conclusions made use of new research, conducted by a social research collaborations between Kings College London-Ipsos, on public perceptions of climate change and how we should respond in the U.S. and UK. He reviewed the urgent challenges presented by climate change and how they are already affecting every single nation on earth. While acknowledging the commitments countries have made to cut carbon emissions and invest in alternative energy, he stressed the importance of pressing major economies to hasten their efforts. Kerry called for urgency and accountability from everyone, every day, saying: “We will get to a low carbon economy, but will we get there in time?”

Secretary John Kerry was the US Secretary of State under President Barack Obama. From 1985 to 2013, he served as a US Senator representing Massachusetts and was Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2009 to 2013. His current appointment—as the first-ever Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and National Security Council Principal entirely dedicated to climate change—represents the Biden administration’s concern and commitment to combatting climate change.