Last week, President Biden and his climate cronies landed in Glasgow, Scotland to talk temperature, energy, and emissions. This conference was to be the first major test of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
But the COP26 climate convention will be remembered for highlighting dysfunction inside the White House rather than advancing President Biden’s progressive climate agenda.
On this week’s episode of The Drill Down, Peter Schweizer and Eric Eggers take a closer look at John Kerry, the President’s climate envoy, and how his private interests reveal a deep rift inside the Oval.
During the 2020 election season, then-candidate Joe Biden championed human rights and fighting climate change as two major pillars of his foreign policy. After winning the election, Biden even announced his administration would address climate as a public health and equity issue.
The message there? Prepare for tremendous government overreach and abuse of power.
But it was Biden’s choice of John Kerry to serve as climate envoy that may sabotage his administration’s climate legacy. Kerry has conflicts that may make him ineffective and weak in talks with China.
Kerry and his wife have more than $1 million invested in a China-based group that specializes in facial recognition software. This groups sells its services to the Communist regime in the province of Xinjiang.
Conflict.
Kerry also previously served on the advisory board to a Chinese solar power company that relies on forced labor from Uighurs in the oppressed province.
Conflict.
National security advisor Jake Sullivan has been extremely critical of China’s willingness to cooperate, as evidenced by President Xi’s decision to not attend COP26 in person. However, Kerry has pressed President Biden to hold extensive, bilateral talks with China on the specific issue of climate change.
Next week, Biden will speak with President Xi – albeit virtually – about their tenuous relationship.
After the talk, we might have a clearer idea on whether Biden is prioritizing climate change or human rights—and whether Kerry’s portfolio gets a boost (it seems almost inevitable).
