John Kerry Praises Pope Francis for Letter Slamming U.S. over Carbon Emissions

ROME — John Kerry has congratulated Pope Francis for a new letter on the “climate crisis” in which the pope calls out the United States for its high per capita carbon emissions.

On Thursday, Mr. Kerry — U.S. special presidential envoy for Climate — applauded the pontiff for his “powerful words” in Laudato Deum (Praise God), urging that the pope’s message “should be heard by all.”

In particular, Kerry held up the pope’s allegation that the earth is “nearing the breaking point,” his assertion that diplomacy “must be part of the solution,” and his hope that COP28 will mark “a change of direction” and not just “pasting and papering over cracks.”

“His Holiness should be heard by all when he writes we can only solve this crisis if we can ‘count on the commitment of all,’” Kerry added in his post on social media.

The pope’s letter, published Wednesday, slammed skeptics of climate alarmism and singled out the United States by name for its contribution to climate change.

“Despite all attempts to deny, conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here and increasingly evident,” the pope declared.

“No one can ignore the fact that in recent years we have witnessed extreme weather phenomena, frequent periods of unusual heat, drought and other cries of protest on the part of the earth that are only a few palpable expressions of a silent disease that affects everyone,” he wrote.

“If we consider that emissions per individual in the United States are about two times greater than those of individuals living in China, and about seven times greater than the average of the poorest countries, we can state that a broad change in the irresponsible lifestyle connected with the Western model would have a significant long-term impact,” he stated.

RELATED — Kerry: Climate Is the Most Important Issue with China

The alert folks at The Pillar Catholic, an online Catholic news outlet, pointed out that the pope’s math was not quite up to par since “U.S. per capita emissions are less than 1.5 times that of China,” adding that China’s per capita emissions levels “are significantly higher than the global average.”

The pope also failed to mention that in aggregate, China’s emissions are more than double those of the United States, and America’s air is among the cleanest of any nation, while China’s air quality is among the poorest.

John Kerry is a longtime fan of Pope Francis and in 2021, called him “one of the great voices of reason and compelling moral authority on the subject of the climate crisis.”

“He’s been ahead of the curve. He’s been a leader. His encyclical Laudato Si is really a very, very powerful document, eloquent and morally very persuasive,” Kerry said at the time.

This past June, Kerry visited Pope Francis at the Vatican, and after the meeting, again praised the pope for his leadership on climate change.

Pope Francis has “remarkable leverage” on the question of global warming, Kerry asserted, “because he has constantly been an outspoken and engaged advocate on this issue; he believes it very deeply.”

“He’s very troubled by where we are, and where we are not, and where we should be,” Kerry said. “I think he’s thinking about ways he can continue to have an impact on it, I’m sure.”

“I think it’s important for religious leaders to be engaged on this issue because it goes to the heart of morality, of individual responsibility for others and for mother earth,” Kerry, a Catholic, asserted. “It has a lot to do with the scriptures of one religion or another.”

Follow @tdwilliamsrome