John Kerry will fly commercial to UN climate conference following backlash for private jet carbon emissions

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Climate czar John Kerry accused of hypocrisy over private jet emissions

Fox News contributor Douglas Murray joined "Fox & Friends" to discuss Kerry's 'hypocrisy' as progressives face backlash over their far-left green energy push.

FIRST ON FOX: Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry will take a commercial airline when he travels to Egypt next week for the annual United Nations climate summit.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that Kerry would travel to the high-profile conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, via commercial aircraft rather than private jet. Kerry has previously been criticized for his use of a private jet owned by his family for travel to accept a climate leadership award.

Kerry's international trip will begin with a visit to the U.K. later this week, according to a release his office issued Tuesday. He will then travel to the United Arab Emirates before heading to Egypt on Nov. 6 to lead the U.S. delegation at COP27 through Nov. 18.

"Each of these 12 days before we gather together in Egypt are days to pull together the remaining threads of potential progress," Kerry remarked at an event hosted last week by the Council on Foreign Relations. "It might surprise some people to hear that even in this year of political tumult and testing, the global climate fight has pushed on step by step, mile by mile, not just in the weeks leading up to the COP."

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Climate envoy John Kerry will take a commercial airline when traveling abroad next week to the United Nations' latest climate summit. (Reuters/Yves Herman)

"Headed towards COP27, this year has to be the implementation-plus," Kerry continued. "The test this year is: Will countries put commitments into action? And will outlier countries that haven’t strengthened their commitments, will they step up? That’s the implementation and the plus."

Since President Biden appointed Kerry to be the first-ever special presidential envoy for climate — a cabinet-level position tasked with engaging in climate negotiations with foreign nations — Kerry has jetted around the world, pushing a transition from fossil fuels to green energy alternatives. 

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However, Republicans have criticized Kerry for failing to live up to his own standards, pointing to his heavy reliance on gas-guzzling airplanes and ownership of a private jet. 

Fox News Digital previously reported that Kerry's family jet emitted more than 300 metric tons of carbon since assuming his position at the State Department in the Biden administration. By comparison, the average American has a total carbon footprint of about 16 tons per year, according to The Nature Conservancy.

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"Joe Biden launched his war on American energy on his first day in office, shutting down domestic energy production and making us reliant on our enemies," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital in July.

"But while Americans are struggling to afford gas and being lectured about ‘transitioning’ their energy use, Biden’s cabinet is jetting around the world wasting the same fossil fuels they say they want to ban," he continued. "Americans can see the hypocrisy and it’s insulting."

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In addition, government watchdog group Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against Kerry in September, arguing his office has improperly withheld information about his travels as special presidential envoy for climate.