White House climate envoy John Kerry sympathized Thursday with young critics of President Joe Biden’s administration for its not going far enough to address climate change.
“That’s where a lot of the younger generation is today,” he said. “Appropriately, pretty upset at the adults, the alleged adults who are not getting their act together.”
Kerry spoke at the White House press briefing about Biden’s climate summit that included 19-year-old Mexican-born climate activist Xiye Bastida, who demanded the end of fossil fuels.
Bastida listed a series of demands from government leaders.
“The climate crisis is the result of those perpetuating and upholding the harmful systems of colonialism, oppression, capitalism, and market-oriented green-washed solutions,” she said.
Bastida said the existing economic systems around the world were disproportionally hurting minority communities.
“You need to accept that the era of fossil fuels is over,” she said, demanding the end of “systematically targeting the global south” through “environmental plunder.”
Bastida also demanded net-zero emissions by 2030, far more than Biden’s proposal.
Kerry was asked about Bastida’s criticisms, but he only offered praise for her speech.
“Well let me just say to you that uh.. uh… that I loved her passion and I love what she said,” he said.
He said he did not agree with everything she said but sympathized with her anger.
“[Y]ou are darn right they are angry and I share that anger,” he said.
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