While John Kerry, the Biden administration’s climate envoy, is fighting to make the world a greener place, his family’s private jet has spewed more than 300 metric tons of carbon dioxide since he assumed the post, according to a report.
The jet, a Gulfstream GIV-SP, has made 48 trips lasting more than 60 hours and released an estimated 715,886 pounds — or 325 metric tons — of carbon dioxide since Biden entered the White House in January 2021, Fox News reported, citing data its obtained through flight-tracker FlightAware. Kerry was named the head of global policy outreach for the administration shortly after Biden took office.
The jet belongs to a charter company, Flying Squirrel LLC, which is owned by Kerry’s wife, Teresa Heinz-Kerry.
Kerry owns a more than $1 million stake in the company, the report said.
For comparison, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year.
Kerry, the former secretary of state in the Obama administration who played a crucial role in creating the 2016 Paris Climate Accord, was expected to travel to the Petersberg Climate Dialogue this week in Germany where representatives from 40 governments will gather to discuss reducing emissions.
His office suggested to told Fox News that the envoy would use commercial aircraft to fly to the conference in Berlin.
“No,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to Fox News asking if Kerry would use a private jet to go to Germany.
“Secretary Kerry travels commercially or via military air in his role as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate,” the spokesperson said.
Kerry has called for transitioning from fossil fuels to green energy if the world wants to prevent the destruction caused by global warming and has predicted that coal-powered power plants will not exist by 2030.
“The problem with folks like John Kerry and the climate hypocrites who run the green movement is that they want to use the coercive power of government,” Daniel Turner, the executive director of Power The Future, told Fox News.
“They want to use it internationally with groups like the UN, etc. They want to use the power of government to deny the rest of us the ability to use those fossil fuels that they take for granted,” Turner said.
“They refuse to voluntarily live how they want the rest of us to be forced to live,” he continued. “It doesn’t just make them hypocrites, it makes them, quite frankly, a threat to the rights and freedoms of people around the world. When John Kerry voluntarily lives the way he wants the rest of us to be compelled to live, then we can talk about his climate goals.”
Turner said he doesn’t begrudge Kerry traveling by private plane, but he disagrees with the climate envoy benefitting from the use of fossil fuels while trying to deny their use to others.
“At what point will John Kerry and all of the world leaders who care about climate change ever jump on a Zoom call?” Turner said.
