US Climate Envoy Kerry Signals Rapid 'Phase Out' Of Coal By Biden Administration

US Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry outlined in a speech on Thursday a series of steps needed to reach net-zero carbon emissions, including the end of coal as a power source to generate electricity

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2021) US Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry outlined in a speech on Thursday a series of steps needed to reach net-zero carbon emissions, including the end of coal as a power source to generate electricity.

"Reaching net-zero global carbon emissions as early as 2050 will take a wholesale transformation of the global economy," Kerry said. "We know we need to: Phase out coal five times faster than we have been (based on the comparison with the trend from 2013-2018)."

Kerry also sketched other steps that he said were needed to halt net increases in atmospheric carbon, including a 22-fold increase in electric vehicles and a six-fold rise in renewable energy.

Kerry's remarks were prepared for a virtual meeting of business 20 (B-20) - a group of private companies hosted by Italy to support climate policies of the Group of 20 nations.

Shortly after Wednesday's inauguration, President Joe Biden signed an executive order re-enlisting the United States in the Paris Climate Accord, reversing the Trump administration's withdrawal from the 2015 agreement.