Republicans Assail Kerry’s Climate Strategy as He Prepares for China Talks
Republicans on Thursday accused John Kerry, President Biden’s special envoy for climate, of being soft on China as he prepared to travel to Beijing to restart discussions between the world’s top two polluting countries.
In a contentious hearing before a House Committee on Foreign Affairs panel, Republicans attacked Mr. Kerry for not doing enough to persuade China to cut its greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, several also sought to portray Mr. Kerry as putting Chinese interests above those of the United States by negotiating with America’s top economic rival.
Mr. Kerry expects to arrive in China on Sunday for three days of climate talks. He told lawmakers that he believes the Chinese government must reverse its growing use of coal-fired power plants, which has helped to make it the world’s biggest polluter. But he also made a point of praising China for deploying more wind, solar and other renewable energy than the rest of the world combined.
Mr. Kerry said it was important to try to find a way that would allow China and the United States to work together to reduce global emissions, despite the tensions between the countries over trade, human rights and other issues.