John Kerry Took A Private Jet to Iceland For Award

Newly appointed climate czar John Kerry took a private jet to Iceland in 2019 to receive an environmental award. However, this fact remained unreported in the US media until now. Fox News reported that Kerry went to Iceland to receive the Arctic Circle, he said that it’s his only choice. In fact, he received the award for “being a consistent voice pressuring the American authorities to commit to tackling environmental matters,” in 2019.

RELATED: Politically Wrong: Konversing With Kerry

‘It’s the Only Choice’

Arctic Circle Roundtable lead and former Iceland President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, criticized Kerry for traveling to the event via private jet. Reporter Jóhann Bjarni Kolbeinsson asked why John Kerry took a private jet. In addition, he asked Kerry if he thought he's using an environmental way to travel. “If you offset your carbon — it's the only choice for somebody like me who is traveling the world to win this battle,” Kerry said. 

“I negotiated the Paris Accords for the United States. I’ve been involved in this fight for years. I negotiated with President Xi to bring President Xi to the table so we could get Paris,” Kerry explained. “I've been involved with this fight for years. I negotiated with [Chinese] President Xi to bring President Xi to the table so we could get to Paris. And, I believe, the time it takes me to get somewhere, I can't sail across the ocean. I have to fly, meet with people and get things done,” he added.

Meanwhile, the former secretary of state under the Obama administration continued to justify his big-carbon-footprint choice of travel. He said he didn’t have the time to sail the seas going there. With that answer, Kerry seemed to forget that he can travel via commercial airlines like everybody else. He said that what he does for the environment is almost full-time. In the end, Kerry thinks that he offsets and “contribute my life to do this, ” nobody can put him on the defensive.

Private Jet Emissions

Fox News previously reported that the Kerry family owned a private charter jet company. As of 2013, Kerry owned “over $1,000,001” in assets for the charter company Flying Squirrel LLC via his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry.  Meanwhile, Experts estimate that private jets emit up to 40 times more carbon per passenger compared to commercial flights. However, there are no available data regarding Kerry’s total carbon offset. But, flight logs show that the Kerry private jet flew over 20 hours in 2020.  This means an estimated 116 metric tons of carbon emissions. 

According to a 2018 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, the typical passenger vehicle emits 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. At the same time, the report assumed a car with a mileage of 11,500 miles with consumption of 22.0 miles per gallon.

The Global Climate Change Fight

At a White House briefing last week, Kerry admitted that the US  goal of reducing its emissions to zero won’t make a difference in the global fight. He said the remarks ahead of Biden’s signing of executive orders pushing the $2 trillion Green New Deal-inspired climate agenda. The President “knows Paris alone is not enough,” he said. He referred to referring to Biden’s order rejoining the group of countries who signed the Paris Climate Agreement. “Not when almost 90 percent of all of the planet’s global emissions come from outside of US borders. We could go to zero tomorrow and the problem isn’t solved,” Kerry conceded. 

In addition, Kerry suggested that coal and gas workers affected by Biden’s green agenda can shift to green jobs. “They’ve been fed the notion that somehow dealing with climate is coming at their expense. No, it’s not. What’s happening to them is happening because of other market forces already taking place,” Kerry said. Consequently, GOP lawmakers criticized Kerry for practicing “out of touch” elitism.

Watch Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Carlson as he reacts to John Kerry's excuse for using a private jet:

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When John Kerry took a private jet, he made a conscious decision to make a carbon footprint. However, he did seem to expect to offset it afterward. Given this, should John Kerry continue to serve as climate czar? Let us know what you think of a climate czar who can’t even reduce his personal carbon footprint. In addition, let us know what you think of the US climate change initiatives. Share your comments below.