John Kerry, the recently appointed climate czar for President Joe Biden’s administration, in 2019 flew in a private jet to Iceland, where he received the Arctic Circle award for his climate work, Fox News reports.
Kerry defended himself at the time by saying that taking a jet was "the only choice for somebody like me" after the event, during which he was criticized by the leader of the Arctic Circle Roundtable for his mode of transport.
"I understand that you came here with a private jet," Icelandic reporter Jóhann Bjarni Kolbeinsson said to Kerry after the event, according to an interview obtained by Fox. "Is that an environmental way to travel?"
The former secretary of state responded: "If you offset your carbon — it's the only choice for somebody like me who is traveling the world to win this battle."
Kerry added, "I negotiated the Paris Accords for the United States," and said, "I've been involved with this fight for years. I negotiated with [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] to bring President Xi to the table so we could get Paris. And, I believe, the time it takes me to get somewhere, I can't sail across the ocean. I have to fly, meet with people, and get things done."
He went on to say, "But what I'm doing, almost full time, is working to win the battle on climate change, and in the end, if I offset and contribute my life to do this, I'm not going to be put on the defensive."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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