27 February, 2024

Carl Nasman Washington DC Hello and welcome to Future Earth. This week, we revisit turning points in the career of the US's outgoing Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry. After years at the centre of the United Nations' annual climate talks, including negotiation of the Paris Agreement in 2015, Kerry tells the BBC where he sees climate diplomacy going next. Plus, the people pulling up concrete in Portland and the giant tortoises that keep albatross runways clear.   CLIMATE CONVERSATION A climate veteran's parting words John Kerry speaks to the BBC on leaving his long-held role of US special climate envoy. Credit: BBC If there were a Mount Rushmore for climate diplomats, John Kerry's face would probably be on it. A US politician, White House cabinet member and diplomat - he's shaped a decade of international climate politics. As US Secretary of State in 2015, he played a key role negotiating the landmark Paris Climate Agreement. Later under President Joe Biden, he helped bring the US back into that agreement after it withdrew under former US President Donald Trump. And Kerry championed the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest green investment in US history. But he has truly left his mark over the past three years as Biden's Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, criss-crossing the world to push global leaders onto a greener path. At last year's COP28 climate conference in Dubai, Kerry helped shepherd a landmark deal across the line. Although it disappointed many, it's the first to agree to transition away from fossil fuels. Now, as he prepares to leave his role as Biden's climate envoy this spring, he spoke to the BBC's Christian Fraser for an exit interview of sorts. How does he see the world now compared with three years ago? "It is in a better place, even though it seems chaotic to everybody," Kerry says. "But when I took the job, we were heading towards 3.7C to 4C [6.7F to 7.2F] of warming on the planet. Now we're heading towards about 2.5C [4.5F]. And we have succeeded, I think globally, in raising the ambition of countries around the world." John Kerry negotiated with his counterpart for China, Xie Zhenhua, at the Paris Agreement climate talks in 2015. Credit: Alamy. Part of the reason for that success is his intense diplomacy to bring the world's two biggest polluters - the US and China - to the negotiating table at a time when the two nations were barely on speaking terms. Kerry used his close relationship with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, to get both nations to work towards tripling renewable energy globally by 2030 and reducing methane emissions. (Read the story on BBC News.)  "If we're not cooperating with China, we don't get there," Kerry says. "Everybody's got to come to the table." Not everyone is satisfied with the climate legislation he has helped mould, or with Kerry's America-first domestic agenda, which favours US companies for green investment - all while the US has become the world's biggest oil and gas exporter. So, why wouldn't he commit the US to a stricter phase-out of all fossil fuels? "Look, you can't just stop it tomorrow," Kerry says. "People have to get to work, kids go to school […] you can't just turn it off. What people want to see is the legitimacy of the transition." Year of change Kerry also knows well that meaningful international climate action depends on domestic politics. Half the world's population heads to the polls in 2024. And many of those elections - including a presidential vote in the United States - could alter the pace of progress. If Trump, who has pledged to undo much of President Biden's climate agenda, wins a second term in office, what would that mean for the planet? "When [Trump] was president last time, 75% of the new electricity that came online in the United States came from renewables. Why? Because 37 governors in the United States - Republican and Democrat alike - live under renewable portfolio laws, they have to be moving towards renewables. And they did." For Kerry, the transition to a clean energy economy is just an all-important matter of time. "We will become a low-carbon global economy," he says. "But the only issue is, will we do this in time to avoid the worst consequences of the crisis? And that's not at all certain." Watch Christian Fraser's full interview with John Kerry here.   NUMBER OF THE WEEK 33,000 The number of square miles of asphalt torn up by a Portland "depaving" group since 2008. Read more about how a movement to replace concrete streets with earth and plants is gaining ground. TAKE A MOMENT How nature became part of Ukraine's resistance Ukraine's efforts to restore and improve its war-torn landscapes are hamstrung by the challenges and dangers of conflict. But the nation's environmentalists are pressing forward. Read more CLIMATE QUIZ The return of the Galápagos tortoise to Española is a boon for the island's degraded ecosystem. Not least since the creatures are "prodigious seed dispersers", spreading thousands of seeds in their faeces. How far can the animals walk in two weeks? A. 5km (3 miles) B. 10km (6 miles) C. 50km (31 miles) Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer. THE BIG PICTURE The women saving Ecuador's blue crab Esmeraldan women are trying to save the crabs that their way of life depends upon. Credit: Johis Alarcón/Cimarrona with the support of National Geographic Society The dense mangrove forests of Ecuador's coast are vanishing due to deforestation and intensive shrimp farming. The decline is leaving communities vulnerable to climate change's intensified storms, and has also put the beloved Esmeraldas crab at risk. A distinctively blue crustacean, with an orange belly and red legs, the creature is part of Esmereldan community's cuisine and culture. Meet the local women now fighting to safeguard the crab's habitat.  BEFORE YOU GO • How baleen whales produced their haunting, underwater songs has long remained a mystery - until now. Read the report by Helen Briggs and Victoria Gill for BBC News. • One of the country's "most technically advanced" indoor farms opened in the UK this week. How far can vertical farming go? • With the Caribbean experiencing a 25% increase in severe hurricanes since 1980, the nutritious and trusty breadfruit is proving a reliable local food in Jamaica, BBC Travel reports. US Election Unspun newsletter Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday to your inbox. Sign up here MORE BBC NEWSLETTERS • Tech Decoded: Timely, trusted tech news from global correspondents, twice-weekly. Subscribe. • Royal Watch: The full story from royal correspondent Sean Coughlan, every Thursday. Subscribe. • Football Extra: Latest news, insights and gossip from the Premier League, weekdays. Subscribe.