John Kerry, the Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Change, stated Friday that the United States must work with Russia and China on climate change.

Kerry stated that “We must work with China” during a Yahoo News interview on Friday regarding working with India to combat climate change.

Kerry is a cabinet-level member of the Biden administration. This position required Senate confirmation. He also has executive authority over climate and energy policy. Climate envoy is a member of President Joe Biden’s cabinet as well as the National Security Council. He has an office in the State Department that houses an estimated $13.9 million annual budget and 45 employees.

Kerry said, “And even if we can solve the war in Ukraine,” Kerry stated that a solution must be found to allow Russia to cooperate with us, as Russia is a large emitter. “And any of these countries can — if they don’t move to modify their energy base — make it harder for the rest, if anything, to achieve the goals that we have set.”

Kerry said that President Biden gave me the ability to reach out and work with China for two years. This was something Kerry also stated. “We don’t need as much, but we do have what we need.”

Kerry had complained earlier in the month that tensions between China and the United States were affecting his climate talks. The U.S. military downed a Chinese sky-bomber over the Atlantic Ocean, off the Carolina coast in February. Although U.S. officials claimed it was a spy satellite with surveillance capabilities, China claims it was an off-course weather balloon.

Kerry said that “Regrettably” in the past year, what was not supposed has happened. Kerry spoke to Axios at CERAWeek. “And so they’ve kinda pulled back a bit, expressing the belief that we’re just bashing and bashing them.”

In late 2021, the United States and China signed a joint declaration on aggressive emissions reductions. According to reports, Kerry had a productive working relationship with his Chinese counterpart dating back to the Obama administration (when Biden served as vice president).

It has been reported that Kerry also held climate negotiations with his Chinese counterpart. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-KY, decided to investigate in February as Kerry has not made public details about his meetings. Comer asked for transparency in order to understand Kerry’s actions.