John Kerry says climate denial and disinformation is ‘costly and dangerous’
US climate envoy John Kerry has told Sky News that climate denial and disinformation is “costly, very dangerous and wrong”.
Mr Kerry was responding to a question about a recent US Republican primary debate in which only one of the eight candidates explicitly stated that climate change is real, and candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said “the climate change agenda is a hoax and we have to declare independence from it”.
The former secretary of state said: “Unfortunately, we have people around the world who are proselytising lies and distortions and non-scientific information.
“The disinformation is a problem for us.
“It creates confusion… and it’s really costly, it’s very dangerous and it’s wrong.
“So the folks who stand up and say this is not happening… they’re just not living on the same planet… they’re not listening to the facts and they’re not fully briefed and informed or they’re just playing politics with it.
“Either way, it’s dangerous.”
Asked about the UK’s climate change committee and its assertion that this country has “lost its clear global leadership on climate change” in part by backtracking on fossil fuel commitments, approving a new coal mine and supporting new oil and gas in the North Sea, Mr Kerry said: “My understanding from UK officials is that they are promising to stay on track and on the target of their reductions.
John Kerry attending a press conference in Beijing, China, in July
“There will be drilling. We are drilling too (and) others are, because there’s a certain demand that is built into our economies right now.
“Do you have to continue to pump? Yes, you do. Do you need to explore and go out and lease new leaseholds? I doubt it if you’re doing the other things that you need to do.
“We have to resist this pressure that is coming from some interests, who want to continue business as usual. We do not have the time or space for business as usual.”
As climate-driven extreme weather events continue to unfold around the world, Special Envoy Kerry insisted that the target of limiting global warming to 1.5C was critical to keep hold of, even though figures like Bill Gates have said it is now out of reach.
“I’m convinced it’s a helpful goal because… every 10th of a degree that you go beyond that is extremely costly, extremely damaging, and perhaps even fully catastrophic.
“The key here is we have to strive. Now I know it’s hard.”
Mr Kerry continued: “We are not on track today to keep 1.5 alive. We’re not even on track to keep two degrees alive today. And that’s why we need to be pushing harder. We want to keep the prospect of being able to do it alive.
“That’s what we’re fighting for now.”
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Mr Kerry said that he is seeing a shift in the pace of progress ahead of the COP28 UN climate change summit in Dubai, even though there are concerns that the summit’s president is also the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and that this could undermine the gathering and its negotiations.
He said: “The test will be in what is on the table to be negotiated and what they [the COP presidency] are fighting for, and right now, they’re fighting for the right things.
“Let’s wait and see, the proof will be in the pudding… this is a shared crisis and we all have to do our part, and that particularly includes the COP presidency.”
“Countries are now moving more effectively. I’m genuinely encouraged that now I see momentum building.
“Is it where it needs to be? No. Are we doing it fast enough yet? No. But there are signs that we can kick into higher gear and actually make things happen.”
It’s 5.30am, but the car park outside a laundrette in south central Los Angeles is already bustling.
A woman is setting up a stand selling tacos on the pavement and the sun is beginning to rise behind the palm trees.
A group of seven women and two men are gathered in a circle, most wearing khaki green t-shirts.
The leader, a man named Francisco “Chavo” Romero, begins by asking how everyone is feeling. “Angry,” a few of them respond. “Proud of the community for pushing back,” says another.
Ron, a high school history teacher, issues a rallying cry. “This is like Vietnam,” he says. “We’re taking losses, but in the end we’re going to win. It’s a war.”
Francisco ‘Chavo’ Romero leads a volunteer group, attempting to warn people ahead of ICE raids
This is what the resistance against Donald Trump’s immigration policy looks like here. In the past month, immigration and customs enforcement agents – known as ICE – have intensified their raids on homes and workplaces across Los Angeles.
Since the beginning of June, nearly 2,800 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the city, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The previous monthly high was just over 850 arrests in May this year.
Police use tear gas against protesters, angry at a recent immigration raid at a farm in Camarillo, California. Pic: AP
Videos have circulated online of people being tackled to the ground in the car park of DIY shops, in car washes and outside homes. The videos have prompted outrage, protests and a fightback.
“Chavo” and Ron belong to a group of organised volunteers called Union del Barrio. Every morning, a group of them meet, mostly in areas which have high immigrant populations.
The day I meet them, they’re in an area of LA which is heavily Latino. Armed with walkie talkies to communicate with each other, megaphones to warn the community and leaflets to raise awareness they set out in cars in different directions.
A volunteer from Union del Barrio shows Sky’s Martha Kelner how they try to stay one step ahead of ICE agents
They’re looking for cars used by ICE agents to monitor “targets”.
“That vehicle looks a little suspicious,” says Ron, pointing out a white SUV with blacked-out windows, “but there’s nobody in it”.
An elderly Latino man is standing on a street corner, cutting fruit to sell at his stall. “He’s the exact target that they’re looking for,” Ron says. “That’s what they’re doing now. The low-hanging fruit, the easy victim. And so that is proving to be more successful for their quotas.”
This man, selling fruit on a street corner in LA, is a potential target of immigration agents
In the end, it turns out to be a quiet morning in this part of LA, no brewing immigration operations. But elsewhere in the city, dawn raids are happening.
ICE agents are under pressure from the White House to boost their deportation numbers in line with Donald Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
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In June, tear gas and rubber bullets were fired at protestors demonstrating against immigration raids
Maria’s husband Javier was one of those arrested in LA. He came to the United States from Mexico when he was 19 and is now 58.
The couple have three grown-up children and two grandchildren. But Javier’s work permit expired two years ago, according to Maria and so he was living here illegally.
Maria’s husband Javier was arrested after his work permit expired
She shows me a video taken last month when Javier was at work at a car wash in Pomona, an area of LA. He is being handcuffed and arrested by armed and masked ICE agents, forced into a car. He is now being held at a detention centre two hours away.
“I know they’re doing their job,” she says, “but it’s like, ‘you don’t have to do it like that.’ Getting them and, you know, forcing people and pushing them down on the ground. They’re not animals.”
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Maria wipes away tears as she explains the impact of his absence for the past four weeks. “It’s been so hard without him,” she says. “You feel alone when you get used to somebody and he’s not there any more. We’ve never been apart for as long as this.”
The family have a lawyer and is appealing for him to remain in the US, but Maria fears he will be sent back to Mexico or even a third country.
Maria fears her husband, who has lived in the US for nearly 40 years, will be sent back to Mexico
“I don’t know what to say to my grandkids because the oldest one, who is five was very attached to his papas, as he calls him. And he’s asking me, ‘When is papa coming home?’ and I don’t know what to say. He’s not a criminal.”
The fear in immigrant communities can be measured by the empty restaurant booths and streets that are far quieter than usual.
People in LA are being asked to report sightings of ICE officials so others can be warned
I meet Soledad at the Mexican restaurant she owns in Hollywood. When I arrive, she’s watching the local news on the TV as yet another raid unfolds at a nearby farm.
She’s shaking her head as ICE agents face off with protesters and military helicopters hover overhead. “I am scared. I am very scared,” she says.
All of her eight employees are undocumented, and four of them are too scared to come into work, she says, in case they get arrested. The process to get papers, she says, is too long and too expensive.
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Soledad, who owns a Mexican restaurant, plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive
“They call me and tell me they are too afraid to come in because immigration is around,” she says.
“I have to work double shifts to be able to make up for their hours, and yes, I am very desperate, and sometimes I cry… We have no sales, and no money to pay their wages.”
There is just one woman eating fajitas at a booth, where there would usually be a lunchtime rush. People are chilled by the raids.
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Soledad says she plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive.
“I’ve told them, get inside the fridge, hide behind the stove, climb up where we have a space to store boxes, do not run because they will hunt you down.”
The White House says they’re protecting the country from criminals. ICE agents have been shot at while carrying out operations, their work becoming more dangerous by the day.
The tension here is ratcheting up. Deportation numbers are rising too. But the order from Donald Trump is to arrest even more people living here illegally.
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