Kerry urges oil industry to speed up transition to fight climate change

Speaking alongside oil executives making the case for the continued production of oil and gas at the virtually-held CERAWeek conference, Kerry called for the United States to accelerate the development of hydrogen, carbon capture and other technologies that can reduce emissions. 

“I think that the fossil fuel industry clearly could do a lot more to transition into being a full-fledged energy (industry) that is embracing some of these new technologies,” Kerry said in a conversation with former U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. 

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the transition to renewable fuels and electrification of key elements of energy use. Global majors have been playing catch-up, responding to demands from investors to reduce production of fuels that contribute to global warming. 

Michael Wirth, chief executive of Chevron Corp, said in a separate session that the oil industry and U.S. government can join to advance lower-carbon fuels. 

“Natural gas should play a very important role,” added Wirth. “This is an area where there should be common ground.” 

In his remarks, Kerry also highlighted the need for a major investment in energy infrastructure in the United States to accelerate the deployment of renewable electricity and called out states like Texas, for being resistant to modernizing the U.S. electric grid. 

Texas is the only state in the continental United States with an independent power grid. That allows the state to avoid federal regulation - but severely limits its ability to draw emergency power from other grids. 

“We need to have a smart grid. That will save us huge amount of money, reduce emissions and produce a capacity to have baseload challenges met,” Kerry said, adding the U.S. could drastically increase renewable electricity deployment. 

“But we are going to have to get rid of some of our chauvinism and our parochial components that resist common sense and the need to move very hastily to get this done,” he added. 

The United States will disclose a new greenhouse gas emission reduction target for the next decade at a global leaders summit on April 22, he said. President Joe Biden, who appointed Kerry, announced on this first day in office in January that the U.S. will rejoin the Paris climate agreement. 

Biden, in his first weeks as president, canceled a presidential permit that would have allowed the construction of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline from Canada, and is taking steps to limit new oil and gas development.