During an interview posted online on Friday, Ben Adler, senior climate editor at Yahoo News, asked President Joe Biden’s climate czar John Kerry about the use of private flights, a topic that has been criticized by many for being counterproductive to the fight against global warming.
Adler noted that he had read that Kerry “recently switched” from flying private to flying commercial after he was roundly criticized for taking private jets all the time while advocating that ordinary Americans make do with less travel.
“No, I didn’t fly private while I was in this job,” Kerry insisted, flatly rejecting the claim. “It’s just a misnomer.”
"You recently switched, I read, from flying private to flying commercial…"
JOHN KERRY: "No I didn't fly private" pic.twitter.com/60R5BJXupV
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 25, 2023
He want on to say that he has had “one, maybe two private flights, which were military flights in order to get to China during COVID.”
“We were forced into that,” he insisted before adding, “I fly commercially.”
In July 2022, federal data showed that Kerry’s family jet had emitted over 300 metric tons of carbon dioxide since the Biden administration began, as reported by Fox News, which added:
Kerry’s family jet, a Gulfstream GIV-SP, has made a total of 48 trips lasting more than 60 hours and emitted an estimated 715,886 pounds, or 325 metric tons, of carbon since President Biden was sworn into office, according to federal data obtained by Fox News Digital via FlightAware. The plane belongs to Flying Squirrel LLC, a charter company owned by Kerry’s wife Teresa Heinz-Kerry and in which Kerry reported owning a more than $1 million stake on his most recent financial disclosure.
In February, however, Fox News reported that Kerry and his wife quietly sold the family jet to a New York-based hedge fund after the intense criticism.
In the interview, Adler also challenged Kerry to address the criticism that world leaders, who advocate for climate action, contradict themselves by traveling to major climate events, like Davos, on private jets.
“I’ve talked to them about it,” he replied, in reference to his counterparts. “They offset — they buy offsets, they offset, and they are working harder than most people I know to be able to try to effect this transition.”
John Kerry defends global elites flying their private jets to fight climate change in Davos because they're "working harder than most people I know to be able to try to effect this transition." pic.twitter.com/XEa2uKkhtD
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 25, 2023
The Republican National Committee shared clips of the interview on Twitter and emphasized Kerry’s remarks as defending “global elites” who use private jets while advocating for climate action.
Kerry emphasized the need to be thoughtful about the transition to climate-friendly changes, including the increased use of low-carbon sustainable aviation fuels.
He also acknowledged that it would be impractical to suddenly eliminate every aircraft in the world that relies on fossil fuels.
