John Kerry is an American Democratic organization politician, lawyer, erstwhile military and diplomat. From 2013 to 2017, he served as U.S. Secretary of State in the administration of president Barack Obama. Earlier, for almost 3 decades (1985–2013), he was a senator, and in 2009–2013 he chaired the U.S. legislature abroad Affairs Committee. In 2004, he was a Democratic presidential candidate, losing to president George W. Bush. In 2021, he was appointed by president Joe Biden a peculiar U.S. envoy on climate change, serving as specified until March 2024.
Below is simply a evidence of the conversation with John Kerry at the Impact’25 conference in Poznań, on 14 May 2025.
Bartosz Węgielarczyk: all day I perceive with curiosity to what the president of the United States says, and my impression is that climate change has already been resolved. The subject is closed, we don't gotta talk about it anymore. Right?
John Kerry: The answer to that question is obvious. I effort not to preach apocalyptic visions, really. And I do not focus solely on the negatives of what happens — due to the fact that the positives are extraordinary, and we will talk about them.
But let me say 1 thing: in the United States the president has changed, but discipline has not changed. There is not a single decision that we have made with president Biden or before with president Obama all these years, not 1 that is based on ideology, politics or the individual whim of the President.
All our decisions were based on science.
Since the Enlightenment, from the Age of Reason, precisely from a large earthquake in Lisbon in 1755.When people like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, Voltaire and others debated what it meant, whether it was an act of vengeance of God or a natural phenomenon, discipline won. That was the spirit of enlightenment. And present we have people telling the planet that 2 plus 2 is not four, but five, six or something else.
It transcends the limits of absurdity — and costs us all in the planet a large deal of money. If we look at how the weather changes: utmost phenomena, expanding storms, frequent flooding, intense rainfall and the amount of water vapour rising from the ocean (because 90% of global warming goes to the oceans), we will see how the oceans themselves change. Their acidification grows, life changes and marine fauna. It's all connected. You can't solve the climate without solving the oceans. This is all discipline — physics, chemistry, biology — while we have people who usage ostrich strategy — hide their heads in the sand and pretend nothing happens.
But it costs us a trillion dollars. Only last year in the United States alone we had 28 weather events that Each of them did harm to more than a billion dollars.. From 1980 to today, full losses are about 2.9 trillion dollars. present we see a large tension between those who like to ignore it and those who work for the future.
And I am convinced that others will win.
Because we will scope a low-carbon, zero-emission economy. We will get there due to the fact that the marketplace has already made its decision. A fewer weeks ago, a header appeared in the Wall Street Journal: "Energy transformation is unstoppable". And present there are many analyses that show that on the another side of this road, at the end of this transformation there are immense opportunities. People will make money from it. This transformation will happen.
Today, however, many people are afraid, and as a result, any withdraw. The sale of electrical cars has fallen slightly. It besides slowed down the modernisation of buildings that account for a crucial part of emissions. But the point is very simple: we do not request a fresh algorithm or groundbreaking NASA technology to realize this challenge. This is 1 of the simplest challenges we have always faced as a human being. It's a substance of what we people decide to do. Or what we will not decide — which is besides a decision.
How we heat and illuminate our homes, our factories, how we travel, these are regular choices. We inactive decide to burn fossil fuels without catching emissions. In Dubai, 2 years ago, the planet decided that we must decision distant from fossil fuels. 'Department' does not mean 'from day to day', of course, but we could do this process much more decisively than we are doing now.
Meanwhile, we're losing billions due to damage. 7 million people die a year from air pollution, or greenhouse gas emissions, although we utilized to call it smog. The planet wellness Organization, Harvard Medical School, and another institutions print data on the number of victims caused by mediocre air quality — and we do nothing about it. Emissions are rising, not decreasing.
This is simply a challenge for a global governance system. Whether we respond to the facts or get intimidated by those who say forget everything and decision on. Personally, I think we should declare a global emergency on this.
We should make a consortium of countries that jointly invest in, for example, tiny modular atomic reactors or accelerate the implementation of geothermal energy. The company I work with present has invested in a geothermal entity called Fervo — and he has already proved that he can supply clean energy. It is energy for data centers, for AI — and not a gram of gas or pollution. Interestingly, the creators of this company come from the oil and gas sector, and that is where they learned the technology of drilling, which present allows them to get heat from inside the earth.
This is the minute of a massive global clash. Not only as Americans or Poles, but as people. 'Cause we're here today, so I'm sorry to say, on our way to global suicide. We're not moving as fast as we know we should. In Glasgow, in Sharm el-Sheik, Dubai, at the next 3 UN summits, the planet has committed itself to change. Business and governments have jointly declared concrete actions. If we had achieved everything that was promised in Glasgow, Sharm el-Sheik and Dubai, we would have limited Earth's temperature to 1.6–1.7 degrees C. That's how the global Energy Agency estimates.
The problem is not technology. The problem is the deficiency of political leadership. We're not doing what we promised ourselves. So present we're going to 2.5 degrees. C or more, or consciously ignore the efforts we have committed ourselves to.
I believe we can win this fight — but we must change the choices we make. And take actions that don't mean sacrifices.
It is not actual that the energy transformation is more expensive, although Donald Trump and any others say so. On the contrary, this is an extraordinary opportunity. Like an industrial revolution in the late 19th century, or a technological revolution in the 1990s, computers, mobile phones, the Internet. Now we have an energy revolution ahead of us — and millions of jobs. The construction of fresh energy networks, infrastructure for electrical vehicles, are all elements of a healthier, safer and cleaner future. But we can't anticipate politicians to. We must engage globally and require actions that are possible, accessible and obvious.
BARTOSH HUNGARY: But president Donald Trump does not want to fight climate change. And the fact is, without the leadership of the United States, this fight will stop. Can we afford a 3 and a half years break?
JOHN KERRY: I disagree. Let's look at the facts. In the last year, 2 trillion dollars were invested globally in climate action, while in fossil fuels only 1 trillion dollars. For the first time in human history, more money went to pure energy than to fossil fuels. Besides, look at Donald Trump's first term: he withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement, but we, a group of people, together with politician Cuomo of fresh York and politician of Newsome of California, announced the We’re inactive In movement. 37 governors from 50 U.S. states had regulations on the mandatory share of renewable energy in the energy mix and continued these efforts despite Trump withdrawing.
The fact is, Trump withdrew from the agreement, but not the Americans. And at the end of his first term, 75% of fresh electricity in the US came from renewable sources. present it is 90 percent. People from Ford, General Motors, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Volvo, these CEOs will not abruptly enter the office and say, "Oh, my God, Trump was elected again. Back to the combustion engines.” That's not gonna happen.
The share of electrical vehicles in Norway is 92%. In China, 33 percent of thousands of electrical vehicles are waiting for supplies. The marketplace wants to act, alternatively of suppressing it with duties and reducing demand, we should let it do its job. So let's look at reality: money inactive flows.
Many corporate leaders have made decisions to reduce emissions. We were heading in the right direction. Until today, erstwhile any of them, I say it gently, they were intimidated and retreated. Wall Street withdrew the commitments that had previously been made, demanding climate responsibility. We planned to introduce mandatory climate hazard reporting — present only any private players do.
Yeah, people pull out of any investments. I will give an example: insurance companies in the United States have withdrawn from insurance in Louisiana, Florida and Alabama. They'll most likely pull out of Cape Cod and Massachusetts, too. due to increased sea levels and hazard of flooding. The increase in sea levels will cost us $1 trillion a year — just to build resilience and adaptability. And we don't even do that. We're not even ready to go into the planet with a warming of 2.5 or possibly 3 degrees Celsius. People like Sir Nicholas Stern, who print a study all year on the cost of climate change, say clearly: no action is much more costly than action.
This is simply a fact — and the marketplace understands it. So we have a choice: either we will be responsible, or we may as well quit ruling outside the time erstwhile it benefits someone, as we see in Saudi Arabia, for example. We must return to acting as free and liable citizens. erstwhile I returned from the Vietnam War — which, by the way, was a immense mistake for our country — the first thing I became active in was not protests against the war, but something called Earth Day. During the first Earth Day, 20 million Americans went to the streets 1 day to protest and say, "We want change." At the time, you couldn't see the another end of fresh York due to the smog. Same thing was in Los Angeles. But it wasn't just demonstrations. We politicized this movement. We focused on the 12 worst votes in the U.S. legislature — and at the 1970 election we defeated 7 of them.
What did it do? A wave of environmental action — partially inspired by Rachel Carsonwhich had already fought the American chemical manufacture in the 1950s. In the next 2 years, we passed:
- the Clean Air Act,
- the Safe Drinking Water Act,
- the protection of marine mammals,
- management of coastal zones,
- protection of endangered species,
- And we called Environment Agency (EPA).
This all happened due to the fact that people went to vote and made the climate a political issue. president Richard Nixon, who was no environmentalist, signed these laws. I firmly believe in active civic participation in democracy.
Look at Poland. Poland has a immense past of civilian resistance, conflict for freedom and action since Lech Wałęsa until today. You've always been on the front line. And today, Poland stands on the watch for values — it does not let 1 country to attack another and break the rules that we developed after planet War II. It's worth fighting for. And the same kind of passion, the same kind of attachment to values and principles, we must now decision on to the fight for our planet. And this is not an exaggeration — a real conflict for life and the future.
All the scientists I know inform us of critical points — moments after which there will be no turning back. This is the 4th wave of coral reefs fading in the world.. Experts foretell that The full Greenland Ice Cover may melt. Same It's happening with Antarctica. — Western ice cover threatens to break off. 2 years ago, Larsen's immense ice plate broke off, sailed into the sea and melted, contributing to the emergence in ocean levels.
So we have a very clear choice. Democracy will not last if we act in a planet without facts. And present there are people who want to deprive us of facts that are willing to claim that 2 plus 2 is 5 or six. We must fight for the age of reason, for enlightenment, for science, for human action — and we must fight for what discipline tells us is at risk. Otherwise, we'll spend billions of dollars just to survive.
Rich countries can handle it. But mediocre countries don't. For example, 48 sub-Saharan African countries account for only 0.55% of emissions. Meanwhile, 20 or 21 developed countries — China, the USA, Europe, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Korea, Japan, Canada — account for over 80% of emissions. We will not solve this problem unless developed countries take it seriously and accelerate the transformation.
ImpactBartosz Węgielarczyk and John Kerry at the Impact’25 conference in Poznań, 14 May 2025.
BARTOSH HUNGARY: You mentioned the collapse of the global safety strategy that arose after planet War II. Of course, I gotta ask about the war in Ukraine. And I'd like to ask you, as a erstwhile Secretary of State and a long-standing senator powerfully active in abroad affairs, what solution you see for this conflict. What should happen? What should the US administration and European leaders do to end the war? Is there any way to force Russia to conclude a peace agreement with Ukraine?
JOHN KERRY: I dealt with president Putin more frequently than anyone in the Biden or Obama administration — that was just my role. Together with Sergei Lavrow, we brought 1300 tonnes of chemical weapons from Syria. Fortunately, before she was taken over by ISIS, the planet would have looked completely different. Russia then worked with us.
Russia besides worked with us on Nuclear agreement with Iran — We virtually removed atomic weapons from the agenda erstwhile the Iranians were only a week or 2 short of creating it — and we extended the period to over a year. And then, of course, Donald Trump withdrew from that agreement. Now he wants to go back to him and effort to sign something.
The only way we can talk to president Putin about this is to make it clear that there is no way out. If you announce in public before you sit at the table before you set the terms of the negotiations that you are giving up the “crown glue” of this case, or Crimea, you say, “Russia has this and that”, and you publically announce the terms of the agreement, you disarm yourself and show Russia where you are willing to step down. And then you say, “You'll either take this deal or we won't talk anymore.” I've never heard of specified diplomacy.
The problem is Putin thinks he's winning. This may indeed be the case in the long word — not for me to judge. But from his point of view, he's already made concessions at no cost. So we gotta get back to basics. president Biden — and we must give it back to him — said, “We will be there as long as we have to, and with as much force as we need.” If Putin doesn't believe it, we have a problem. We request to start by clearly defining our interests, where we set limits and how we are willing to defend it.
In my conversations with Putin, I listened repeatedly to a long list of his regrets — and I think that these regrets truly fuel him. We request to consider them — due to the fact that any of them are significant. If the United States places missiles close Russia that can capture another missilesThat truly changes the balance of deterrence.
The past of Russia — in Poland you know it better than we Americans — is written in geography. And the geography of the region was changing, and I think Putin felt touched. As he had previously lost the USSR, he has now lost his sense of security. He thinks he's surrounded by NATO and another forces. Does that mean he should be on his own? No, absolutely not. But you gotta negotiate. negociate with knowing what cannot be given, where the points are impossible. You request to know who you're talking to and what you're talking about. And I don't think the West truly defines it.
The point is: Europe's future will be defined by the result of the war in Ukraine. And that's besides part of the sense of harm to Putin. That's why we gotta stand firm. We must be absolutely clear that we will support Ukraine. due to the fact that it's not just about Ukraine, it's about the foundations of planet order that we established after planet War II. This order brought Europe and the US and the full free planet incredible freedom, wellness benefits, economical development, education. He brought a lot. Therefore, we must make it clear that the fight for Ukraine is simply a conflict for this strategy of values.
BARTOSH HUNGARY: Let us presume for a minute that president Trump will not apply for a 3rd term, and in 3 years, the fresh president of the United States will appear. Do you think that an alliance between the US and Europe, based on common values, can be saved? Is it possible to go back to that alliance we trusted for 80 years?
JOHN KERRY: I would not say that we are entirely at the mercy of having to save this alliance. I think it is mostly inactive there, although in any countries it is being tested. After all, we have an utmost right in Germany, we have challenges from Marine Le Pen in France, before that besides in Italy, although I think Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni turned out to be a beautiful good partner, who makes good decisions. I besides do not think that Britain will leave the fundamental values on which this country was built and which are included in its history.
So I don't see the teardrop in the alliance that we developed during planet War II. But I think we all request to realize how much democracy is being tested today. This is the privilege of surviving in democracy – that it can be tested. We gotta pass this test. You can't just sit back and watch a group of people disassemble the state's structures, believing that everything will fix itself.
Citizenship is simply a large word. It's a immense responsibility. This is 1 of the most crucial words in English, and not only English. Many people are expected to stay free and able to make choices.
We are presently in the United States being tested whether we are a full-value democracy or a non-liberal democracy. And it's not the difference that matters. Non-liberal democracy is 1 where the regulation of law is undermined and weakened. In democracy, the regulation of law is respected. It's her fundamental principle. W We can already see a departure from this rule through judicial decisions and executive regulationswhich have no legal basis. They are not legal, in many cases they are unconstitutional. And that's a threat today. That's why we gotta fight for it. In the United States, opposition grows. President Trump's support is falling. And I think it's gonna keep falling. Many present say, "This is not what I voted for."
So this is our test. Your test is different due to the fact that Europe has always been a small different. But the full thought of the European Union, dating back to the times of Jean Monnet and the economical and monetary alliance, was based on 1 assumption: we must halt Europeans from killing each other. That was the idea. Thirty-Year War, the 100 Years' War – it had to end all of this and look to the future differently. And that's what we have ahead of us today. This challenge is as real for Poland as it is for the United States. We must stick together and defend actual democracy together.
BARTOSZ HUNGARYCZYK: In Polish experience we know that if politicians have bad intentions, they will always find a way to circumvent the law. They can always say that the law means something else. But I realize you don't believe that president Trump can apply for a 3rd term.
JOHN KERRY: It's not just a substance of faith. This is forbidden by the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution clearly states that anyone who is not entitled to apply for the office of President, cannot besides be appointed vice president as a way around regulations. This is as clear as it is that no president or vice president should enrich himself or his household during office. It's besides in the Constitution.
Moreover, it besides states what rebellion is. What happened on 6 January 2021. It's not only a violation of the Constitution, it's besides a betrayal of everything that the founding fathers of the United States believed and what the civilian War was about. There has been no akin act of rebellion since Civil War — even if it took 1 day. But it was an effort to disrupt the decently held elections. There were over 60 lawsuits in which Donald Trump questioned the 2020 election results and in over 60 cases, besides before judges appointed by Republicans, the courts ruled that there was no evidence of irregularities. And yet Trump inactive repeats this lie.
This is the fight of our lives. And Poland has as much experience in this conflict for freedom as any another country in the world. Your voices and your commitment were crucial to rebuilding the planet order. I'll come back to Normandy, to planet War II, to the courage of Poles in the fight against the 3rd Reich. You have something to be arrogant of and on which to lean, but we should be in this together. Democracy requires eternal renewal, and we in America have always been rather good at defining ourselves. I believe we can do it again.
Let me finish a short story. I worked very intensively with Senator John McCainA Republican, a Conservative from Arizona. We were both Vietnam War veterans. He spent 5 years in Vietnamese captivityI was at the front in the Mekong Delta.
We flew together to Kuwait just after Operation Desert Storm. According to the rules of the Senate, we sat other each another on a plane flying from the United States to Kuwait, where we were to thank our soldiers for the liberation of this country. At the time, we had a tense relation due to the fact that McCain had previously campaigned against me in Massachusetts — although he did it classy, not personal.
We started talking. Everyone else has slept, and we haven't. I asked him about his war. Staying in a cell, torture, imprisonment. He in turn asked me about my experiences. And then we agreed that together we would effort to end the war in America around Vietnam — a war that was tearing the country apart. In “Newsweek” there was an article on the cover: “Are they inactive alive?” . The Rambo videos have led to the belief that American pilots are inactive in cages in Vietnam. It was a story we had to face.. We've been working on this for 9-10 years. Finally, president George H. W. Bush abolished the embargo on relations with Vietnam, and president Clinton normalized relations with this country. We've reached a breakthrough. John and I returned to Vietnam many times to solve the prisoner problem — and that worked.
I'll never forget how I stood with John McCain in his cell at Hanoi Hilton, As the captives called the prison in Hanoi, talking about this road and what we have achieved together. He told me what his day looked like in that small cell. And then I thought to myself — it was in my memory — that since John McCain, a Conservative from Arizona, a prisoner of war, could communicate with John Kerry, an antiwar activist, a Massachusetts Democrat, if we could meet in a cell where he spent 5 years, it means that a common plane is possible everywhere. And that's a lesson for everyone, everywhere. If you are working on it, if you put aside individual resentment, if you stick to the rules and look more closely — you can change reality.
We're dealing with climate today, with wars that shouldn't be fought. Gaza is simply a drama, so many opportunities to suspend weapons were not utilized there. We can do better. And I believe that with energy and joy we can fight for the values and principles that have allowed us to live as we live. This is the minute in human past where we gotta believe again that we can make a difference for the better.
And we will.
