John Kerry: Cheaper clean energy needs faster deployment

Bloomberg's Aaron Rutkoff asks why other countries should trust the US to return to climate agreements after joining the Paris Agreement under Barack Obama, leaving under Donald Trump, rejoining under Joe Biden and leaving again under Trump. John Kerry, the former US secretary of state, says he regards the current presidency as an aberration rather than the country's future norm.

Rutkoff asks whether Trump's departure alone would help restore confidence. Kerry says he sees the election result as a vote for change, reflecting frustration with disruption, alleged corruption and what he describes as disregard for the Constitution. He argues that people in public life must work with the circumstances they face to achieve useful outcomes.

Kerry says renewable energy grew even during Trump's first term and gives a 91% figure for the current share of new US electricity generation from renewables. Despite federal opposition to offshore wind, he is confident the world will move toward a low-carbon economy. What remains uncertain, he says, is whether it will happen fast enough to avoid the worst climate impacts.

Kerry points to the agreement reached at the Dubai climate conference to transition away from fossil fuels and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. He argues that China has accelerated clean-energy deployment while the US has ceded market opportunities, and says China has built and deployed more renewables than the rest of the world combined.

Rutkoff notes the US role in past climate negotiations and asks what it would take to rebuild credibility, beyond saying that America is back. Kerry answers that the US would need action and leadership, including helping developing countries deal with a hotter world.

Kerry argues that delaying action raises costs and that adaptation cannot simply be postponed for a decade or more. He connects climate risks to the affordability concerns he believes mattered in the election, including the cost of insurance and the availability of coverage.

As insurers withdraw from high-risk areas or charge premiums households cannot afford, Kerry expects consequences for housing markets. He names several states and warns that the problem will spread if current trends continue. He also links growing storm damage and cleanup costs to climate change.

Kerry estimates that recent storm cleanup costs reached hundreds of billions of dollars, while acknowledging he does not have an exact figure. He contrasts spending to repair damage with investments in electricity systems and resilience that could reduce future losses.

Rutkoff asks what Democrats should do with control of Congress while Trump remains president, particularly on affordability and climate. Kerry wants lawmakers to be strategic and focus on the public's business rather than turn every committee into a vehicle for retribution. He says that does not mean ignoring violations of law.

Asked whether climate advocates risk being too aggressive, Kerry says demonstrations should be thoughtful about their effect on the public. He recalls antiwar veterans protesting in Washington and says they also cleaned up and planted trees. He argues that protests should bring people into a cause rather than drive them away.

Kerry recalls organizing around environmental concerns such as polluted air and water during the first Earth Day. He says activists turned protest into electoral pressure, targeting congressional votes in the 1972 election. In his telling, making the environment a voting issue helped create support for major environmental laws and institutions.

Rutkoff asks how a future government could make climate policy and diplomacy more durable, given reversals of measures in the Inflation Reduction Act. Kerry says climate did motivate some voters, although he thinks anger about corruption and difficulty paying bills played larger roles. He says some candidates discussed climate without receiving as much coverage.

Kerry says he now spends less time describing alarming climate scenarios and more time discussing the market. He remains concerned about severe physical impacts, including potential changes to Atlantic ocean circulation, but believes the economic case has become central to the conversation.

He argues that the energy transition is unstoppable, while saying he cannot predict exactly when it will reach the necessary scale. For Kerry, the central questions are speed and scale: whether enough clean technology can be deployed quickly enough to meet the climate challenge.

Kerry describes his role as executive co-chair of Galvanize, an investment firm started by Tom Steyer and Katie Hall. He says it invests across real estate, public equities, private credit and venture capital, including technologies such as geothermal and batteries. He says the strategy seeks market returns rather than relying on subsidies or concessionary finance.

Rutkoff asks about a bipartisan permitting reform bill that former vice president Al Gore opposes and some Senate climate advocates support. The disagreement, Rutkoff says, includes whether faster approvals would help clean energy and fossil fuel projects alike.

Kerry says he does not know the latest details of the negotiations and will not judge the specific bill on incomplete information. In principle he strongly supports permitting reform and would consider an agreement that preserves necessary protections and accountability.

An ocean advocate for years, Kerry says he worries about rising ocean heat, changes in ocean chemistry and damage to marine ecosystems. He does not want faster permitting to mean reckless projects without environmental safeguards. At the same time, he says, delays are holding back electricity projects.

Kerry cites a large backlog of proposed electricity capacity awaiting access and argues that political and regional conflicts can slow projects. As an example, he describes opposition to bringing more Canadian hydropower into Massachusetts. His conclusion is that the parties should negotiate protections and get permitting reform done.

Rutkoff turns to China, asking whether the US should cooperate with it and learn from its clean-energy approach. Kerry says diplomacy requires talking even when governments disagree. No country can solve the climate problem alone, he argues, so cooperation is necessary.

Kerry says Obama and Biden allowed him to continue climate negotiations with China during disputes on other issues. He recalls a long working relationship with his Chinese counterpart and a week of negotiations at Sunnylands that produced cooperation on methane.

Kerry argues that new gas-fired power for data centers creates a methane problem if emissions are not addressed. He urges an electrification program centered on clean electricity and says methane's near-term warming effects make it important to control. He calls for the climate conference to implement the Dubai transition commitment rather than merely repeat it.

Returning to his proposed change in message, Kerry says a climate pitch focused only on doom will not engage everyone. He wants to emphasize jobs, new products and investment returns. As an investor, he sees the transition as a major economic opportunity, though he does not specify when its benefits will materialize.

Kerry points to newer power cables, longer-lasting batteries and Texas's deployment of wind, solar and storage as examples of technologies and business decisions he expects to accelerate change. He argues that the price of electricity will influence companies more than appeals from him or Al Gore.

Kerry cites prices he says illustrate cheaper solar and onshore wind relative to fossil fuel power. He expects economics to drive further adoption, but says the pace must increase. He also says electric vehicles represent a larger share of sales globally than in the US and urges the country to catch up.

Kerry closes by calling for faster deployment at scale and for political debate to return to facts. He remains convinced the transition will occur, while maintaining that its timing matters for the damage the world can avoid.