Fox News has broken a story on John kerry’s 2019 trip to Iceland to receive an award for Climate Change, which he flew to in a private jet that was criticized by some at the award ceremony:
President Biden’s recently appointed climate czar, John Kerry, took a private jet to Iceland in 2019 to receive the Arctic Circle award for climate leadership, Fox News has learned.
Kerry defended his high-pollution ride at the time, calling it “the only choice for somebody like me who is traveling the world to win this battle” in an interview obtained by Fox News. The incident had not been previously reported in the American press.
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who led the Arctic Circle Roundtable, criticized Kerry for traveling to the event via private jet, Icelandic outlet RUV reported.
Kerry received the award, which took the form of an iceberg sculpture, for being “a consistent voice pressuring the American authorities to commit to tackle environmental matters,” the outlet noted.
Icelandic reporter Jóhann Bjarni Kolbeinsson confronted Kerry at the event over his choice of transportation, asking: “I understand that you came here with a private jet. Is that an environmental way to travel?”
Kerry responded by claiming that it was the only way. “If you offset your carbon — it’s the only choice for somebody like me who is traveling the world to win this battle,” Kerry said.
Oh yeah, I’m sure he’s ‘offsetting’ his carbon. Yeah, right.
Kerry continued to defend himself. But it came across like the common ‘don’t you know who I am’ defense:
“I negotiated the Paris Accords for the United States,” he added, referring to the multilateral climate agreement signed while he was secretary of state under President Obama.
“I’ve been involved with this fight for years. I negotiated with [Chinese] President Xi 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,” Kerry said, sidestepping the fact that he chose a private jet over a commercial flight.
“But, what I’m doing, almost full time,” he continued, “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.”
Private jets have been estimated to emit upward of 40 times as much carbon per passenger as commercial flights.
John Kerry is clearly full of himself. He won’t take a commercial flight because it’s too far beneath him. He’s dedicated his life to this ‘lavish’ lifestyle of flying private jets around the world to receive awards for Climate Change, so he’s not going to be held to the same standard he wants force on others.
He’s one of our betters and he deserves to fly private, even if it contradicts everything for which he supposedly stands.