WEBVTT - John Kerry

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<v Speaker 1>Over the past several decades, one of the most prominent

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<v Speaker 1>political figures in the United States and the world has

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<v Speaker 1>been John Kerry. He has served as Senior Center from Massachusetts,

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<v Speaker 1>chairman of the Center Farm Relations Committee, nominee of his

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<v Speaker 1>party for president in two thousand four, and a Secretary

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<v Speaker 1>of State under President Obama. Now under President Biden, he's

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<v Speaker 1>serving a Special Envoy for Climate Change. I've known John

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<v Speaker 1>Carey for many years, had a chance recently sit down

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<v Speaker 1>with him and talk to him about climate change and

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<v Speaker 1>many other issues facing the United States. I went back

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<v Speaker 1>and looked at very few secretaries of State in the

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<v Speaker 1>last hundred years or maybe ever, have really gone back

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<v Speaker 1>into government. So why did you want to come back

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<v Speaker 1>in the government for any issue? When you're you've got

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<v Speaker 1>eight grandchildren, you've got two daughters, You've got wonderful family.

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<v Speaker 1>Why did you want to come back in and go

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<v Speaker 1>through this terrible process. We haven't Washington getting things through

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<v Speaker 1>consensus and getting people to agree with what you want

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<v Speaker 1>to do. Because I want those grandchildren to have a future.

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<v Speaker 1>It's very simple. Uh, We're not in a good track

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<v Speaker 1>right now the world. It's not serious enough about reducing

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<v Speaker 1>our emissions fast enough, David. And the result is that

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<v Speaker 1>the planet is going to continue to evolve in reaction

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<v Speaker 1>to what we human beings are doing to it, mostly

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<v Speaker 1>through fossil fuels. Most of the emissions that are going

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<v Speaker 1>up nowadays into the atmosphere and are creating this increased

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<v Speaker 1>level of energy that comes from the ocean, goes into

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<v Speaker 1>the storms, the floods, the rain. All of it is explainable,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's all linked to the changes we are creating

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<v Speaker 1>on the planet. So it's very simple. I wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>come in because I think we have a real chance

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<v Speaker 1>now to make something happen, and I think Glasgow was

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<v Speaker 1>a major step forward in the effort to do that.

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<v Speaker 1>So some people urge you to run for president this

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<v Speaker 1>most recent election, and you know, I thought, I read

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<v Speaker 1>the newspapers and all. If it's true that you thought

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<v Speaker 1>about it, But when Joe decided to run, you decided

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<v Speaker 1>you were not going to run against Well, I've decided

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<v Speaker 1>before Joe Biden decided not to run. I thought Joe

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<v Speaker 1>Biden had a better narrative than I did, to be

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<v Speaker 1>honest with you, and he's a great friend through many

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<v Speaker 1>many years. We've known each other way back into the

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<v Speaker 1>early nineteen seventies, and I really thought he could win

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<v Speaker 1>and was the best guy to go do the job.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm glad I made campaign for him. He gets

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<v Speaker 1>elected and he says, guess what can you come back

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<v Speaker 1>and serve again? Did you say I'm retired, I'm already

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<v Speaker 1>doing other things, I don't want to do it, or

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<v Speaker 1>do you say I really want to do this? No,

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<v Speaker 1>I was. I was excited by the prospect. I didn't

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<v Speaker 1>know what it would be specifically, and I think we

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<v Speaker 1>have to sort of work out the parameters to understand

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<v Speaker 1>exactly what the dynamics would be. But the idea of

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<v Speaker 1>having a president who wanted to get back into Paris,

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<v Speaker 1>who wanted to make this one of his top security

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<v Speaker 1>issues one of his top issues overall, and the idea

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<v Speaker 1>of having a president who was going to continue to

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<v Speaker 1>push he has been to help us get something like

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<v Speaker 1>Glasgow was exciting and it is exciting, and I felt

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<v Speaker 1>super motivated about that. Jim Baker once said the best

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<v Speaker 1>job in Washington is actually secretary of State. So you've

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<v Speaker 1>seen the presidents said that. People, All right, so you

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<v Speaker 1>were secretary of State for four years. It's a great job.

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<v Speaker 1>Everybody loves it. Who has that job? But now you

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<v Speaker 1>work in the building where you were Secretary of State,

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<v Speaker 1>but you're technically not the Secretary of State anymore. Practically,

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<v Speaker 1>man not a right, So it's a complicated The man

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<v Speaker 1>who was your deputy is now the Secretary of State.

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<v Speaker 1>That's spectacular, works out. Tony is a great friend. I've

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<v Speaker 1>known him for years. We worked on the Foreign Relacens

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<v Speaker 1>Committee together, worked when he was in the White House. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>he's doing a great job. I think the administration is

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<v Speaker 1>right on track now with respect to what's happening in Ukraine.

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<v Speaker 1>I think they've been strong and skillful, and I'm very

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<v Speaker 1>happy doing one issue, believe me. Okay, so let's talk

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<v Speaker 1>about Glasgow. How many times when you have international conferences,

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<v Speaker 1>most of the things are working out in advance, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's kind of you know, symmetry has worked out in advance,

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<v Speaker 1>and you have press conferences, but the things that already

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<v Speaker 1>agreed to. But my impression is in Paris and Glasgow,

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't all worked out in a camp, all worked

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<v Speaker 1>out that and you know, nations have different interests. You

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<v Speaker 1>have a hundred ninety five nations coming to the table

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<v Speaker 1>and everybody's voice needs to be accounted for and listen

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<v Speaker 1>to and factored into what you're doing, and some of

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<v Speaker 1>the dynamics just don't come together until the clock strikes

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<v Speaker 1>midnight and you know you've got to cut you know,

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<v Speaker 1>Fisher cut bait, and they're always last minute things that

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<v Speaker 1>rise in that context. So I understand from people were

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<v Speaker 1>in Glasgow. I wasn't there that you were running around

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<v Speaker 1>in the middle of the night working with other delegations

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<v Speaker 1>trying to cut deals, and in the end people actually

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<v Speaker 1>said it was a pretty good agreement that came out

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<v Speaker 1>of Glasgow. Is that your your view as well? Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>I think it was a very forward leaning, strong agreement, David.

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<v Speaker 1>It has the single greatest raising of ambition that this

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<v Speaker 1>process has ever achieved. It has unanimity about what has

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<v Speaker 1>to happen in terms of raising the efforts around the world.

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<v Speaker 1>We signed on together with the plans individual nations have,

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<v Speaker 1>and when you tie those to the initiatives that many

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<v Speaker 1>different countries came together to embark on themselves all together.

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<v Speaker 1>Fati Bireaul of the International Energy Agency has run the

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<v Speaker 1>models and all of those promises, it actually could get

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<v Speaker 1>us to hold one point eight degrees by. Now, that's encouraging.

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<v Speaker 1>It means you can do things that make a difference,

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<v Speaker 1>at least in the models. The trick now not a trick.

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<v Speaker 1>The challenge now is that over the course of the

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<v Speaker 1>next eight years, we have to reduce emissions by at

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<v Speaker 1>least globally in order to be able to achieve net

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<v Speaker 1>zero by and in order to be able to hold

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<v Speaker 1>the temperature to one point five degree are warming. So

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<v Speaker 1>the consensus seems to be that you can't do these

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<v Speaker 1>things overnight. So you have a period of time, you

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<v Speaker 1>allow people to change their habits, and so the consensus

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<v Speaker 1>is that by twenty fifty is the time we want

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<v Speaker 1>to measure success. Is that right? Yes, But this is

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<v Speaker 1>not a politically arrived at, our ideologically arrived at goal.

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<v Speaker 1>This is coming from thousands of scientists, and they're the

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<v Speaker 1>ones who tell us in the last report of that

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<v Speaker 1>if we want to avoid the worst consequences of the

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<v Speaker 1>climate crisis, we have to reduce our emissions and get

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<v Speaker 1>to net zero by The only way to get to

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<v Speaker 1>net zero is to begin now to reduce, because there's

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<v Speaker 1>no curve steep enough to reduce later. You've got to

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<v Speaker 1>start now. That's why the next eight years, this decade,

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<v Speaker 1>those scientists have said to us, to avoid the worst

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<v Speaker 1>consequences of the climate crisis, you must reduce the emissions

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<v Speaker 1>by over the net ten years. That's so we've set

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<v Speaker 1>our our goal. President Biden has set a goal that

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<v Speaker 1>we will reduce our missions by fifty over these next

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<v Speaker 1>eight years. In Canada's about forty five to fifty, Japan fifty,

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<v Speaker 1>Europe production, UK percent production, South Africa fifty. So people

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<v Speaker 1>have stepped up. We now have six of global g

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<v Speaker 1>d P committed to hold on to the one point

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<v Speaker 1>five degrees. But that means obviously you have thirty that

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<v Speaker 1>isn't so. Our Our effort now, David is called implementation plus.

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<v Speaker 1>We want to implement the promises that were made in

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<v Speaker 1>Glasgow and we want to add to them to bring

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<v Speaker 1>that other of the people to the table. If everybody

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<v Speaker 1>does what we said we would do. Currently, currently that's

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<v Speaker 1>without eight or nine countries that make an enormous difference

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<v Speaker 1>to this. But currently they say we could get to

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<v Speaker 1>one point eight degrees by that's pretty amazing. And if

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<v Speaker 1>we can do that without China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico,

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<v Speaker 1>South Africa, Saudi Arabia, a group of countries. We need

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<v Speaker 1>them to come aboard. If we get everybody on board,

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<v Speaker 1>we could actually keep one point five degrees alive or

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<v Speaker 1>minimize the damage that has done. So the countries you mentioned,

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<v Speaker 1>they haven't signed on to this yet completely. They've signed

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<v Speaker 1>on to various efforts. I mean, China does have a

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<v Speaker 1>plan in place, it's just that it doesn't in our judgment.

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<v Speaker 1>We need to go further faster, and that judgment is

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<v Speaker 1>reinforced by the judgment of the International Energy Agency that

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<v Speaker 1>says last year cole went up over where we were

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<v Speaker 1>in round the world, around the world, but the US

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<v Speaker 1>went up to didn't It went up here too, Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>there was a tick up. In addition, uh, there's about

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<v Speaker 1>three hundred giga lots of new coal construction coming online

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<v Speaker 1>at a time where the International Energy Agency says you've

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<v Speaker 1>got to reduce coal plants by eight hundred and seventy watts.

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<v Speaker 1>So the imbalance of that is dangerous for everybody. It's

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<v Speaker 1>at the heart of what we have to really try

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<v Speaker 1>to tackle them. One of the challenges has been the

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<v Speaker 1>developing nations, and some people would say China, even though

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<v Speaker 1>it's the gigantic economy is a developing nation and India

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<v Speaker 1>gigantic economy of developing nation. They say, well, you guys

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<v Speaker 1>in the West, you've been polluting for a long time.

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<v Speaker 1>Why don't we get a chance to pollute for a

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<v Speaker 1>while and get our economy in better shape, and then

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<v Speaker 1>we'll negotiate some reduction images. It won't be much world

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<v Speaker 1>left to negotiate. It's very simple, all right. That's the

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<v Speaker 1>argument that they know. It's not it's a it's a reality.

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<v Speaker 1>No country can solve this problem by itself, no country.

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<v Speaker 1>If we went to zero missions tomorrow, we still need China, Russia,

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<v Speaker 1>Indian all these other countries to be on board. Now

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<v Speaker 1>the argument. I've heard this argument face to face with

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<v Speaker 1>different ministers and people who say, wait a minute, you

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<v Speaker 1>guys were doing this a long time ago. You've had

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<v Speaker 1>more years to do it. Yes, But here's the butt capitalized.

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't until in nineteen nineties beginning that this issue

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<v Speaker 1>suddenly arose and people were aware of what we were doing.

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<v Speaker 1>And from that point in time we have made bona

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<v Speaker 1>fide efforts continually to try to be fair and bring

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<v Speaker 1>people to the table and spend money and change the

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<v Speaker 1>dynamic until Glasgow, with the Chinese were saying recently, well,

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<v Speaker 1>we have a lot of issues with the United States,

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<v Speaker 1>and let's put them all together and we'll resolve all issues,

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<v Speaker 1>including climate change. I understand you kind of did some

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<v Speaker 1>negotiating in Glasgow, and you've got the Chinese degree that

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<v Speaker 1>will separate out the climate change issue. Is that fair? Yes, well,

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<v Speaker 1>we we had agreed to separate it out previously, and

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<v Speaker 1>President Biden and President She had talked about it, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>and that has been our point of view from the

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<v Speaker 1>very beginning. Here. This is not an issue. This is

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<v Speaker 1>not a bilateral issue. This isn't an issue between China

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<v Speaker 1>and the United States, except to the degree that if

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<v Speaker 1>one or the other is is UH continuing the problem,

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<v Speaker 1>we all have a right to push back. This is

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<v Speaker 1>a global issue. Every country can do things that make

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<v Speaker 1>a difference here. I mean, China is about thirty of

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<v Speaker 1>all the emissions on the planet, the US is about

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<v Speaker 1>ten percent now, and then you have India behind us,

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<v Speaker 1>the EU, UH, Russia, Indonesia, and and sequentially down to

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<v Speaker 1>about two and one point something percent of all the emissions,

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<v Speaker 1>so twenty countries. David, Basically the g twenty but twenty countries,

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<v Speaker 1>not exclusively G twenty account for eighty percent of all

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<v Speaker 1>the emissions on the planet. So if you can get

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<v Speaker 1>those twenty countries to come together and work fast enough,

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<v Speaker 1>we can really have a profound impact on the choices

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<v Speaker 1>that other governments are making. I e. What happens in

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<v Speaker 1>Africa as they developed. We want them to develop. We

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<v Speaker 1>want Latin America to development. We want South Asia develop more,

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<v Speaker 1>but we want them to develop clean smart That doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>mean building coal, It means using renewables, moving into new energy,

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<v Speaker 1>and we have to develop further battery storage, clean hydrogen.

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<v Speaker 1>We have to UH carbon capture, which could make an

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<v Speaker 1>enormous difference and utilization of that carbon for one product

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<v Speaker 1>or another. So there's a lot of research being done,

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<v Speaker 1>but not even enough research being done at this point

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<v Speaker 1>in time now. In the Build Back Better legislation, a

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<v Speaker 1>large part of it was incentives for people to convert

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<v Speaker 1>to UM more energy UM i'd say efficient kinds of

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<v Speaker 1>UH way of getting things done, and and renewables and

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<v Speaker 1>softwath tax and centives, a whole variety of things. I

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<v Speaker 1>think maybe five billion dollars of total value UM that

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<v Speaker 1>legislation installed now So what do people say to you

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<v Speaker 1>at Glasgow? They say, wait a second, you have all

0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:16.760
<v Speaker 1>those decent centives, but you're not getting them through the Congress,

0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:18.760
<v Speaker 1>so why should we listen to you. Well, there are

0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:22.400
<v Speaker 1>people who asked that question, No question about it, I've

0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:27.120
<v Speaker 1>heard it. The fact is that the Infrastructure Bill, which

0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:31.000
<v Speaker 1>President Biden proposed and has passed and signed into law,

0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:35.199
<v Speaker 1>has in it major initiatives to deal with planet, with

0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:38.720
<v Speaker 1>the with the global crisis, and and so for instance,

0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:43.559
<v Speaker 1>building charging stations around the nation, helping with incentives for

0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:49.640
<v Speaker 1>the conversion to electric vehicles, building out a grid in America,

0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.520
<v Speaker 1>a smart grid with transmission, and so forth. There's about

0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:55.360
<v Speaker 1>I think it's about sixty seventy billion dollars in there

0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:59.080
<v Speaker 1>for that. So there are major steps that are already passed.

0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:02.640
<v Speaker 1>And I know the President is going to continue to

0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:04.839
<v Speaker 1>try to fight for the best parts of what he

0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:08.400
<v Speaker 1>thinks he could get through on the what was bill

0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:09.880
<v Speaker 1>back better. I don't know if it will be that

0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:13.000
<v Speaker 1>or something else, but we need that. We need that

0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:16.079
<v Speaker 1>for the planet. It's not just what we do in

0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.000
<v Speaker 1>America will matter enormously to what happens in many other

0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:21.880
<v Speaker 1>parts of the world. So um, Let's say I'm a

0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:24.240
<v Speaker 1>country that is in Glasgow and I'm sitting down with

0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:26.040
<v Speaker 1>you privately, and I say, I know you. You have

0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:28.760
<v Speaker 1>the best of intentions, and presidents the best of intentions.

0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:31.720
<v Speaker 1>But Donald Trump's popularity seems to be still high. He

0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:33.640
<v Speaker 1>could get elected again. So why should I listen to you,

0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:36.040
<v Speaker 1>because we could go through this whole thing about the

0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.000
<v Speaker 1>United States pulling out of these agreements again. It do

0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:40.800
<v Speaker 1>you have that question? I don't believe I've had that question, sure,

0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:44.680
<v Speaker 1>but I believe and I think you'll agree with me.

0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:49.680
<v Speaker 1>There is no way any president down the road. And

0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.280
<v Speaker 1>I believe President Biden. You know, he's got three more

0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:54.200
<v Speaker 1>years and then I think he could be elected and

0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:56.840
<v Speaker 1>re elected will be because of what he has achieved.

0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:02.280
<v Speaker 1>And once we get beyond COVID, once we see this

0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:06.400
<v Speaker 1>transition between you know, taking hold. Our economy is doing

0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:10.080
<v Speaker 1>pretty well and and the unemployment is very low. So

0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:13.800
<v Speaker 1>a lot of the uncertainty right now revolves around COVID

0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:17.080
<v Speaker 1>UH and the other things. But let me just say this,

0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:21.360
<v Speaker 1>No president in the future would walk into the White

0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:24.840
<v Speaker 1>House and undo what is going on around the world.

0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:29.360
<v Speaker 1>This is bigger than the United States. What is this response.

0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:33.360
<v Speaker 1>People all around the world are retooling. Here in America.

0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:36.240
<v Speaker 1>Do you think Ford Motor Company and General Motors, which

0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:40.520
<v Speaker 1>have completely retooled in are retooling their factories to build

0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:43.560
<v Speaker 1>electric You think there's suddenly they'll say, no, electrics not

0:15:43.680 --> 0:15:47.840
<v Speaker 1>the future. Electric is the future for automobiles all around

0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:51.680
<v Speaker 1>the world. That's already happening, the pace at which electric

0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:54.600
<v Speaker 1>is in demand and being built. Why is Tesla the

0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:57.720
<v Speaker 1>highest value company in the world and all that produces

0:15:58.120 --> 0:16:02.080
<v Speaker 1>is electric cars and electric vehicles. So I think that no,

0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:06.120
<v Speaker 1>with the trillions of dollars that are going into clean hydrogen,

0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:10.960
<v Speaker 1>into batteries and battery storage, carbon capture, while companies all

0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:13.240
<v Speaker 1>around the world. You know this, David. You you sit

0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:17.680
<v Speaker 1>on boards, You're been a CEO. There are board rooms

0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:20.680
<v Speaker 1>all around the planet in which the discussion is about

0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:24.840
<v Speaker 1>e s G. Environment, social and governance. People are concerned

0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:29.400
<v Speaker 1>about being responsible. The finance sector is going to demand

0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:33.680
<v Speaker 1>disclosure of risk, so people are going to be making

0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:36.880
<v Speaker 1>risk judgments about the kinds of investments that are being made.

0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:42.960
<v Speaker 1>And and I think I don't see any politician anywhere

0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:46.320
<v Speaker 1>in the world undoing what is happening in the private

0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:49.080
<v Speaker 1>sector today, and that's going to continue. It's going to

0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.920
<v Speaker 1>grow far above what it is today. Let's suppose I

0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:54.840
<v Speaker 1>say to you, I agree with what you're saying, but

0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:58.560
<v Speaker 1>actually I'm not that able to impact climate change. I'm

0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:01.200
<v Speaker 1>just a capitalist. I want to an investor. Am I

0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:03.120
<v Speaker 1>going to be able to make money by investing in

0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:06.080
<v Speaker 1>this climate change economy? Or am I going to lose money?

0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:09.080
<v Speaker 1>You're gonna be able to make money. But it's going

0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:11.720
<v Speaker 1>to happen, and and there are a lot of people

0:17:11.760 --> 0:17:14.560
<v Speaker 1>already investing in it and making money. I know people

0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.240
<v Speaker 1>in certain parts of the world. They will remain nameless,

0:17:17.680 --> 0:17:20.600
<v Speaker 1>but they're invested to the tune of billions of dollars

0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:25.080
<v Speaker 1>in alternative renewable energy, and they're deploying it around the world.

0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:28.119
<v Speaker 1>It is cheaper to do that than it is to

0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:31.200
<v Speaker 1>build a coal plant, then to buy the coal. It's

0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:34.520
<v Speaker 1>cheaper than it is for fossil fuel today. And if if,

0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:38.119
<v Speaker 1>if people did real accounting, which they don't do, the

0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:42.600
<v Speaker 1>real cost of fossil fuel ought to contain the damage

0:17:42.640 --> 0:17:44.919
<v Speaker 1>to the atmosphere, the damage to the planet, the warming

0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:48.800
<v Speaker 1>of the ocean, the black lung disease, the health effects

0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:52.080
<v Speaker 1>I mean, the real cost of this is way beyond

0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:54.680
<v Speaker 1>what's factored in at the pump or anywhere else. And

0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:57.240
<v Speaker 1>you know that. So because there are subsidies. We have

0:17:57.240 --> 0:17:59.720
<v Speaker 1>about two and a half trillion dollars of subsidies built

0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:03.320
<v Speaker 1>into the system. Last year there's about four billion dollars

0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:07.720
<v Speaker 1>of subsidies to what to fossil fuel, which is causing

0:18:07.800 --> 0:18:11.440
<v Speaker 1>the problem. That doesn't make sense, David, And so I

0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:14.400
<v Speaker 1>think that you're going to see a sea change. Look

0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:16.879
<v Speaker 1>at what happened in next on Mobile. Three seats on

0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:19.359
<v Speaker 1>the board of directors have gone to people who have

0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:22.600
<v Speaker 1>been active caring about climate and has changed what that

0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.480
<v Speaker 1>company is thinking about and doing with respect to it.

0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:28.840
<v Speaker 1>So you obviously are passionate about the subject. I assume

0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:31.159
<v Speaker 1>fair to say, well, I'm passionate about it because I

0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:36.400
<v Speaker 1>think because the the negatives that will come with ignoring

0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:41.800
<v Speaker 1>this further are so identifiable. It's almost like the vaccination issue.

0:18:41.800 --> 0:18:43.480
<v Speaker 1>I don't want to get into it too deeply, but

0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:49.040
<v Speaker 1>the people dying are unvaccinated and the people going to

0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:51.880
<v Speaker 1>hospital and vaccinated. Do you get a message from that, Well,

0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:54.840
<v Speaker 1>it's about the same thing here. We're spending hundreds of

0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:58.280
<v Speaker 1>billions of dollars cleaning up the mess after a storm

0:18:58.760 --> 0:19:01.600
<v Speaker 1>that we might have been better off preventing in the

0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:05.640
<v Speaker 1>first place. And if all the literature is clear, all

0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:10.200
<v Speaker 1>the economic analysis is clear, it will cost us far

0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:14.399
<v Speaker 1>more not to take action than it costs to take action.

0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:17.720
<v Speaker 1>So common sense says, let's let's get to work. You

0:19:17.800 --> 0:19:23.399
<v Speaker 1>came to Washington as a senator. How is Washington different

0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:27.040
<v Speaker 1>than is it it's night and day? Because then there

0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:30.280
<v Speaker 1>was bipartisanship to some extent, well, there was to more

0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:33.440
<v Speaker 1>than some extent. I mean, I could remember we get

0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:36.320
<v Speaker 1>together in the in the city on a given night,

0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:39.080
<v Speaker 1>and and we'd have Republicans and Democrats at the table

0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:41.000
<v Speaker 1>and eat dinner and laugh and tell jokes and do

0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:43.720
<v Speaker 1>some business too. And the next day you could come

0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:46.280
<v Speaker 1>into the Senate and build on what had happened. That

0:19:46.440 --> 0:19:50.920
<v Speaker 1>doesn't happen. I think that's changed a lot of reasons, David, not,

0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:52.680
<v Speaker 1>the least of which is the amount of money it

0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:55.720
<v Speaker 1>takes to run for office in America. Now it's it's

0:19:55.800 --> 0:19:59.240
<v Speaker 1>a huge amounts of money, and there's a perennial there's

0:19:59.280 --> 0:20:01.720
<v Speaker 1>a constant process of having to get on an airplane

0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:04.640
<v Speaker 1>and go raise money. So as you look at your

0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:07.680
<v Speaker 1>incredible career in public service, what would you say you're

0:20:07.760 --> 0:20:11.680
<v Speaker 1>most proud of having achieved so far? I've never said

0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:15.440
<v Speaker 1>I can't even begin to answer that. I mean, I'm

0:20:15.480 --> 0:20:18.399
<v Speaker 1>proud that, you know, for twenty eight years I had

0:20:18.440 --> 0:20:22.000
<v Speaker 1>the privilege of representing messages It's and we did some

0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:26.840
<v Speaker 1>very exciting things with health care and children and on

0:20:26.920 --> 0:20:29.720
<v Speaker 1>the Foreign Relations Committee ending a War with Vietnam with

0:20:29.840 --> 0:20:33.080
<v Speaker 1>John McCain. He and I worked hard on PO W

0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:35.640
<v Speaker 1>M I A to try to put the Vietnam War

0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:38.600
<v Speaker 1>to bed really and to do it the right way

0:20:38.680 --> 0:20:41.520
<v Speaker 1>by answering the questions families had about the missing in

0:20:41.600 --> 0:20:44.719
<v Speaker 1>action and prisoners. Uh. And I'm proud of that. I'm

0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:48.520
<v Speaker 1>proud of keeping faith with with combatants in that effort.

0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:51.399
<v Speaker 1>I mean, there many things. I think the Iran Nuclear

0:20:51.440 --> 0:20:54.840
<v Speaker 1>Agreement was one of the strongest nuclear agreements in history,

0:20:55.080 --> 0:20:57.920
<v Speaker 1>and tragically President pulled out of that and now you

0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:01.920
<v Speaker 1>see where we are. An is back, the nuclear weapon

0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:06.000
<v Speaker 1>is threatening again, and we're in a far more dangerous

0:21:06.040 --> 0:21:07.720
<v Speaker 1>world as a result of what he did. So I'm

0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:11.399
<v Speaker 1>proud of what we did on that agreement. And you know,

0:21:11.480 --> 0:21:13.840
<v Speaker 1>I'm proud of the Paris Agreement, in the Glasgow Agreement,

0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:17.360
<v Speaker 1>those I think are perhaps, if we look at where

0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:19.680
<v Speaker 1>we're heading and what we need to do, among the

0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:21.720
<v Speaker 1>most important things any of us could have done. So

0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:23.919
<v Speaker 1>as you look back on your career, you no regrets

0:21:23.960 --> 0:21:27.200
<v Speaker 1>you didn't go into private equity, investment, banking, something important

0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:32.200
<v Speaker 1>like that, Well, life would be easier, indifferent probably, but no,

0:21:32.600 --> 0:21:34.840
<v Speaker 1>I've loved every minute of what I've done, and I

0:21:35.600 --> 0:21:37.879
<v Speaker 1>you know, who knows, maybe there's still time to do

0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:40.280
<v Speaker 1>some of that. So you have eight grandchildren when you're

0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:43.359
<v Speaker 1>blended family, what do they call you a secretary or

0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:47.520
<v Speaker 1>or a special envoy or what do they call you? Uh,

0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:54.120
<v Speaker 1>depends what mood, but mostly grandpa, Mostly I am I'm

0:21:54.160 --> 0:21:59.720
<v Speaker 1>grandpa unless on words, I can't even begin to describe

0:22:00.000 --> 0:22:01.840
<v Speaker 1>and tell them about climate change very much. They're not

0:22:01.920 --> 0:22:05.400
<v Speaker 1>that focused on it, or no, they're not that focused. Happily,

0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:09.280
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to hear more of my interviews. You

0:22:09.359 --> 0:22:13.480
<v Speaker 1>can subscribe and download my podcast on Spotify, Apple, or

0:22:13.480 --> 0:22:14.280
<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen