FACT CHECK: John Kerry’s speech at COP27 focused on climate change, not wiping out middle class

A social media post has claimed that John Kerry, former United States secretary of state and special presidential climate envoy, plans to replace capitalism with a new economic system. 

The Instagram video claimed that at the just concluded United Nations’ COP27 climate summit in Egypt, Kerry shared plans of the First Movers Coalition, a partnership between the US and the World Economic Forum to wipe out the middle class.

“They want to wipe out the middle class, they want to get you under the central banking digital currency system, or you’ll see a carbon tax, you’ll see a social credit score, and they will take your rights away,” a man said in the video. 

In the video shared by @three_perhangman76, and viewed over 413 times, the social media user also accused Kerry of “lying about everything” about climate change.

The claim by the Instagram user aligns with a deleted report published by the Gateway Pundit on November 10. The post is achieved here using the Wayback Machine. 

Verification

TheCable reviewed speeches delivered by the US special presidential envoy at COP27, where he encouraged collaboration between private companies and governments towards addressing the global climate crisis.

In a news report by South China Morning Post, which extensively analysed Kerry’s November 7 speech at COP27, the claim attributed to the US climate envoy wasn’t mentioned. 

Also, checks by TheCable revealed that no reputable media platform published any report where Kerry advocated wiping out the middle class or implementing a central digital banking system.

During a panel session at COP27, Kerry spoke about the First Movers Coalition, a global initiative that harnesses the purchasing power of companies for innovative clean energy technologies. He highlighted that the coalition has increased from 25 member companies in 2021 to 65 members in 2022. 

During the panel discussion, Kerry detailed the need for these companies to spearhead efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and keep alive the goal of limiting temperature increase within a key global warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“We have an enormous challenge ahead of us to bring to scale new technologies and to harness the deeply capable capacity of private sector entrepreneurs in order to bring them to the table because, without it, no government has enough money to accelerate, to support the process. We need everybody engaged in this,” Kerry said.

In the archived article, Gateway Pundit claims that artificial demand for environmentally friendly items, such as electric cars, would have consequences. However, the Instagram post failed to substantiate how Kerry’s words, where he advised companies to invest in greener technologies, would end capitalism, destroy the middle class or even “replace capitalism with a new economic system”. 

Did Kerry Lie About Climate Change?

In a report published in May 2022, the United Nations says the world is getting “measurably closer” to the 1.5-degree threshold and that the likelihood is increasing with time.

According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), there is a 50:50 chance the world could hit the average global temperature of 1.5 degrees Celcius – which is above pre-industrial levels – by 2027.

Also, the Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update reveals a 93 per cent likelihood that at least, one year between 2022 and 2026 will become the warmest on record, knocking off 2016 and 2020 from the hottest years on record. 

The 1.5 °C target is one of the goals of the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 parties at the 2015 Conference of the Parties – COP 21 – in Paris and entered into force on November 4 2016. 

The goal of the agreement is to cap the increase in global average temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5, compared to pre-industrial levels. This level of warming is measured as the average temperature increase since the industrial revolution. 

The 1.5°C figure is an indicator of the point at which climate impacts will become increasingly harmful for people and indeed the entire planet. Since 2015, the chance of exceeding the 1.5°C threshold has risen steadily.

According to experts, failure to hit this target could result in super-droughts, deadlier heat waves, mass extinctions of plants and animals, megafloods and a huge rise in sea level. 

In 2015, researchers said that if the 2-degree target will be met, countries would require to move off fossil fuels. To further reach the more ambitious 1.5 degrees Celsius goal, they added that the world must attain climate-neutrality latest by  2050.

Verdict

The claim that Kerry said the First Movers Coalition plans to wipe out the middle class and replace capitalism with a new economic system is false. 

At no point did he mention a central banking digital currency system, carbon tax or a social credit score at COP27. He majorly focused on the need for private companies and countries to invest in greener technologies to combat climate change. 

This fact check was produced by TheCable with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck, International Fact-Checking Network, and African Fact Checking Alliance network.