UN climate talks: John Kerry appeals to all to share burden of climate change

“You don’t need a PhD…you just need to pay attention to see that the world is already changing,” he noted.

He said every country should do its part.

Developed nations have to play a major role in cutting emissions, “but that doesn’t mean that other nations are just free to go off and repeat the mistakes of the past” by not having environmentally-friendly energy policies and investment, he said.

If the US drastically cut emissions on its own, it would still not be enough to save the planet from warming to 2 degrees Celsius because “it’s the net amount of carbon that matters, not each country’s share.”

“The solution to climate change is energy policy,” Kerry said while calling for a focus on renewable energy.

He urged big greenhouse gas emitters to follow the examples of China and the US, saying the two “leaders of opposing camps” in the climate talks have come to an agreement, which should send a message to other countries that the “roadblocks” to a Paris 2015 agreement can be removed.