We cannot wait for Covid to end to tackle climate change, says US envoy John Kerry

US Special Envoy for Climate Change, John Kerry, delivered a speech at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, southwest London, on July 20, 2021.

US climate envoy John Kerry told the world on Tuesday it could not wait for the Covid-19 pandemic to end before dealing with climate change, saying the suffering from the coronavirus would be magnified if nations did not tackle global warming.

US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry gives a speech at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, southwest London on July 20, 2021. (AFP)

"I am very sorry to say, the suffering of Covid will be magnified many times over in a world that does not grapple with, and ultimately halt, the climate crisis," he said at Kew Gardens in London.

"We don't have the luxury of waiting until Covid is vanquished to take up the climate challenge."