British people ‘will rise to challenge’ of green action – ex-US climate envoy

The British people are “strong and will rise to the challenge” of the green transition, a former US climate envoy has said.

John Kerry, who was the top climate official under president Joe Biden, said he was “optimistic” about decarbonisation efforts in the US and wider global action despite the policy direction of Donald Trump’s administration.

The new US president, who has called climate change a hoax, has pulled out of the UN Paris Agreement, has thrown his support behind fossil fuels and ripped up green incentives introduced by his predecessor.

Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Kerry said the UK can deliver as a climate leader against a backdrop of tough economic headwinds, Russia’s threat to Europe and domestic political pushback.

“It’s a moment of a lot of challenge but you can’t turn your back on an existential issue, which climate is,” he said.

“I don’t think that’s the instinct of the people of Britain, who are strong and will rise to the challenge.”

The former US senator this week joined the King, Andrew Forrest, founder of Australian mining giant Fortescue, and Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, chief executive of the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), at the organisation’s summit in London.

Mr Kerry described the Trump administration’s row back on climate as “more annoying than dire” as he fielded questions about the impact a second term could have on the energy transition.

“It’s a question of just not seeing the glass is completely half empty,” he said before arguing that Mr Trump backs nuclear and wants to stay competitive with China while Republican leaders in states such as Texas do not want to see their big onshore wind industry hurt.

“In the end, this is going to be decided by economics,” he added.

“No government has enough money to command the playing field of the response to the climate challenge.

“It’s going to happen because the private sector is saying, ‘Wait a minute, we can deliver this energy – cheaper, better, cleaner, healthier – and that’s what’s on the other side of this transition’.”

While environment, social and governance (ESG) values have been weaponised in the context of politics, Mr Kerry said there is “zero politics” and “zero ideology” in what voices like his are advocating.

“What we are doing is responding to science, to mathematics, physics and economics,” he said.

On whether the world can decarbonise in time to avoid the worst impacts of the crisis, he said: “I’m extremely hopeful. I’m more than hopeful.

“I’m optimistic that all the tools are coming together, some faster than others, and bigger and more scalable than others.”

His message of optimism was shared by Mr Forrest, who has spent years championing green hydrogen and positioning Fortescue as a climate leader in a hard-to-abate sector.

The company has invested in clean energy in the US and has been eyeing up further projects in the country, but has grown hesitant since Mr Trump’s election.

From an investment perspective, Mr Forrest said he “doesn’t mind” any administration’s view on green energy, only that it provides “an even playing field”.

“Investment goes where it’s welcome,” he said.

“If I’m getting an administration which is ideological, has drained the swamp – except for oil and gas lobbyists, they’ve filled up the swamp nicely – then I’m not feeling that safe.”

Asked about where the UK can step up, Mr Forrest said: “To be brutal if I was running Britain … I would tap into the discontent around the world, with the very smartest people in North America, and say, ‘Come to Britain. Come to make our nation great. Clearly, yours is turning into a dinosaur. Ours is looking straight into the future’.

“Britain suffered a brain drain and this could really turn it around.”

While Fortescue’s green mission has faced challenges, including high-profile executive exits, Mr Forrest said its shareholders now understand that their investment in green technologies will lead to higher returns in future.

Asked how other business leaders can hold their ground to drive a green agenda, he said it is a “fabulous” business.

“The margins, which can create from what your production costs were to what they are now, once you go green, will lead you to greater profitability. It’s perfectly simple. I’d like to make it more complicated, but it just isn’t,” he said.

“So I’d say to any of my fellow chief executives, ‘Sticking with fossil fuel is going to be a very boring, very dull journey ahead for your shareholders. Don’t be surprised if they migrate over to exciting companies’.”

After the SMI summit on Tuesday, Ms Jordan-Saifi called the transition the “growth story of our time” but warned that a new brand of private sector diplomacy is needed to help governments achieve the transition.

She said: “We must redouble our efforts, be bold with our ambitions, embrace new technologies and drive tangible business opportunity around the world.

“This takes courageous leadership from the world’s top CEOs, across every industry and sector.”