Climate czar nominee John Kerry under fire for private jet use

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Former Secretary of State John Kerry has come under fire for his apparently luxurious lifestyle of yachts and using a private plane, which some have argued is hypocritical for a public official advancing climate reforms.

The criticism surfaced after President-elect Joe Biden nominated Kerry to serve as his climate change envoy or  "climate czar," as it's been referred to in the media. During his 2004 presidential run, Kerry's campaign made 60 payments to his wife's charter jet company, totaling $273,171, the New York Post reported.

As late as 2013, his executive branch personnel financial disclosure shows him owning "over $1,000,001" in assets for "Flying Squirrel LLC" through his wife.

Kerry's financial disclosures from 2009-2012 also show that amount. In his 2013 disclosure, the former secretary of state reported between "$50,001-$100,000" in rent and royalties for the company. That figure was over $1 million in his 2012 form and between $100,001-$1,000,000 for 2013.

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Other disclosures show rental income of over $1 million for 2011, "$100,001-$1,000,000" for 2010, "$100,001-$1,000,000" for 2008, "$15,001-$50,000" for 2005, "$100,001-$1,000,000" for 2004, and "$100,001-$1,000,000" for 2003.

While it's unclear exactly how much Kerry benefited from his wife's company, private jets have been estimated to emit upward of 40 times as much carbon per passenger as commercial flights.

"We look forward to the anti-carbon lectures from a guy who travels the globe on private jets and luxury yachts," read a New York Post editorial on Monday.

Biden's transition team did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.

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Fox News host Pete Hegseth echoed the New York Post's criticism of Kerry, characterized by the paper as a "lifelong joke" and "one of the biggest gasbags in American politics, [who is] singlehandedly responsible for massive amounts of terrible emissions" with his use of private jets and luxury yachts.

"It’s a common thing," Hegseth said. "They want the rules not to apply to them, but of course, the rest of us need to destroy our economy in order to save the weather."

Fox News' Yael Halon contributed to this report.