What the World Wants From John Kerry

A new piece appearing in POLITICO explores global expectations for John Kerry’s new role and features quotes from interviews with NDC Partnership Global Director Pablo Vieira; Jamaican Minister Pearnel Charles Jr., a current Partnership Co-Chair; Costa Rican Minister Andrea Meza, an immediate former Co-Chair; Dutch climate envoy Marcel Beukeboom, representing an immediate former Co-Chair; and Vahakn Kabakian, Lebanon’s top climate change adviser.

Though words alone won’t be enough, officials are still counting on strong American rhetoric from Kerry. Jamaican Environmental Minister Pearnel Charles Jr. wants to see Kerry “pushing and empowering and encouraging other states” to take stronger climate action.

That type of bold global diplomacy may even inspire U.S. lawmakers to back Kerry’s global commitments with domestic action. “When you go ahead at the international level and you show that kind of unity and ambition, that does require actions to be taken at the national level as well,” said Vahakn Kabakian, Lebanon’s top climate change adviser.

Read the full article at https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/20/john-kerry-climate-460477.