Epstein, Iran and climate: John Kerry’s message to Democrats after midterms win

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: -What effect has Trump's war on Iran had? -It has pushed people, ironically, to look at how they can deploy renewables faster. The energy transition is now unstoppable. It also is better for health, for our country, and it's definitely better for our security. [00:00:18] Speaker 2: -So with a huge majority in Congress, where do the Democrats now go? They're already starting impeachment. [00:00:24] Speaker 1: -They didn't like what happened with Epstein papers. That promise was broken. We've seen it go backwards at moments. This is one of those moments. But I believe we're going to race forwards over the course of the next few years. [00:00:43] Speaker 2: -So the American message right here on the floor of COP is we're all in. Translate that. What does that really mean? [00:00:49] Speaker 1: -It means that even though we have a president who pulled out of the Paris Agreement in his first term and then came back and pulls out again, doesn't put any effort into climate, it means that the average American is concerned. Many are involved. And all across our country, we're seeing positive things happen. Governors, even Republican governors, have supported deploying renewable energy, literally in Texas and other states, which is very improbable. But they're doing it because they make more money. It's cheaper electricity. People are happier at home. Follow the money. And so that's really had a profound impact. Plus, new technologies are coming online. You know, we're doing horizontal, very deep drilling for heat, for geothermal. We're seeing much better storage in our batteries, easier to have firm energy where you're not at risk of losing your energy. So I'm very excited about what the marketplace has decided. And Wall Street Journal even said that the energy transition is now unstoppable. Why? Because the economics are good. It also is better for health, for our country. And it's definitely better for our security, because you don't have to go have young men and women go fight somewhere in order to protect an energy source of an ally or something that matters to us. [00:02:22] Speaker 2: Well, you bring up the issue of security. As you say, strategically, what effects in terms of climate and wider politics has Trump's war on Iran had? [00:02:32] Speaker 1: Well, it's had a profound negative impact. Everybody in the world sees that firsthand, and they're living with it. Prices are up all around the world. Prices of energy are up around the world, all around the world. And it has pushed people, ironically, to look at how they can deploy renewables faster in order not to have that particular problem. [00:02:56] Speaker 2: So Donald Trump's a great green campaigner, in effect, if not designed. [00:03:00] Speaker 1: He's become the new leverage, the new force. [00:03:02] Speaker 2: He has become the new Greta Thunberg. Yeah, I guess. Also, of course, the midterm elections. Now, to what effect was that Americans voting for their pocketbook, the economy, obviously, but also saying, yeah, we do buy in to the climate dimension? [00:03:18] Speaker 1: Yeah, but it's not just climate. Because what -- I mean, take, for instance, insurance. People are seeing their insurance rates going up and up and up and up. And they can't afford the insurance. And if you don't have the ability to get insurance for your home, you can't buy the home. Banks aren't going to lend you money. So this will have downstream profound impacts within our economy. And we're really seeing levels of damage because of the intensity of the storms, the size of the floods, the length of the drought. So a lot of things are happening that farmers, you know, are disgruntled by, that they have much bigger challenges than farming, which is already difficult. And I just think people are feeling the pinch almost everywhere they turn. [00:04:01] Speaker 2: So what gives you hope? You say you're coming here with great hope. A lot of people come with, let's face it, pessimism. [00:04:09] Speaker 1: Sure. Some people do. But what gives me hope is the human spirit, fundamentally, is tenacious. It is strong. It can withstand a lot of onslaught and creative. We have a lot of people who know how to go out and make end runs around something, make it work for them. And I think we're seeing that. We have terrific entrepreneurs in America. And I find that, overall, there are a whole bunch of things we can do with respect to the climate, which do not require expenditure of government money. They don't require concessionary funding or philanthropy. They just require people to go out and do really good business in a normal way of selling a good product. And the good product now is cheaper electricity that will not put them in the predicament that they've been in, like Texas, for instance, where the whole system crashed. And you know what they've replenished it with in order to try to prevent that from happening again? Renewable energy. Renewable energy. So I'm a believer in our ability to find the technologies and to deploy creative approaches, solutions that will ultimately win this battle. [00:05:33] Speaker 2: And I believe we will. Renewable energy. So now with a Democratic uber-majority in Congress, more than most people have saw, where does this go for the politics of climate going forward? Because you've still got Donald Trump. He's still in charge. Renewable energy. [00:05:48] Speaker 1: Let me emphasize this. A lot of CEOs in the United States are deploying renewables and buying different sources of energy production because it's cheaper. It's firmer. They can no count on it. They count on it. And because they want to take care of their customers. And that's the age-old principle. If you can sell something and get people to buy it, you know, if the person can buy something for less, they're going to try and do that. So, you know, I was talking with a group earlier today about electricity, that if you can buy the electricity for 3.4 cents a kilowatt hour, which is solar, or 4.3 cents, which is wind, as opposed to 40 cents per kilowatt hour, what are you going to do? You're going to go buy the cheaper, particularly if it's well delivered. If you, you know, the company is a stand-up company and you trust it. That's what's going to happen. And all over America now, CEOs are making that exact decision. In addition, you know, all of us, I think, have an interest in not having our lungs filled with pollutants, which is what greenhouse gas is. You know, those pollutants move around the world. They fall in the rainfall. They change the chemistry of lakes and streams. If you're a fisherman, fisher person, you will find that you can't necessarily fish somewhere anymore. It kills, I mean, we're seeing this in the Gulf of Mexico, where when the Mississippi comes out, which brings the Ohio and the Missouri rivers, refuse all out, there's a dead area, 500-mile dead zone. So the choice here, when you stop and really look at it, is pretty fundamental, pretty easy. [00:07:45] Speaker 2: I noticed that Gulf of Mexico rather than Gulf of America. [00:07:49] Speaker 1: I was flying the other day, you know, I was flying out to Toronto, and I was flying over Lake Ontario, and I looked at the thing on my phone, my GPS, said Lake America. I was a little taken aback. Well, going forward all that. I mean, those are the things that the president appears to really move on rapidly, rather than bringing people's prices down and dealing with what they want. [00:08:14] Speaker 2: So with a huge majority in Congress, where do the Democrats now go? They're already starting impeachment. Is that really the right tack? [00:08:22] Speaker 1: Let me tell you, if you look at the post-election analysis of last week in the United States, there is absolute clarity to the fact that many people, one of the considerations that moved them, voted on one of their choices, had to do with climate. Now, you know, the fact is that those people also may have considered an AI center near them, or they may have considered they didn't like what happened with the Epstein papers, that promise was broken, or they may have felt that ending the war or not getting into a war. I mean, there were a lot of things to pick and choose from. This is a pretty good cafeteria for a vote analysis. But in the bottom line is, absolutely to a certainty, pollution, climate, the problems people are facing as a result of the climate crisis, very much played a role in many votes. [00:09:23] Speaker 2: Secretary, shouldn't you be, I don't know, relaxing? You still come and you still push this agenda here. What drives you? [00:09:32] Speaker 1: Well, there are a lot of reasons to be here. I've got grandkids and two daughters and three step sons, all of whom have children. And I couldn't possibly veg out somewhere and be of good conscience that, you know, that's the right thing to be doing. I don't do this every minute of every day, obviously. But I'm glad I'm here. A lot of friends I've built up for 30 years or more pushing this process. And we've made progress. We've seen it go backwards at moments. This is one of those moments. But I believe we're going to race forwards over the course of the next few years. You're all in. I'm all in. I'm all in. And so is America, by the way. [00:10:17] Speaker 2: Thanks very much indeed. Thank you. I really appreciate your time, John. Thank you. [00:10:20] Speaker ?: Bye.