State Department failed to properly assess John Kerry's carbon footprint despite Biden order: gov watchdog

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FIRST ON FOX: The Department of State has failed to create a system for tracking carbon emissions of its diplomats as President Joe Biden ordered in 2021, according to a report released Thursday by a federal watchdog.

The report, assembled by the independent Government Accountability Office (GAO), concluded that the State Department does "not have a systematic way to calculate greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. delegation travel." The determination came in response to a request from lawmakers led by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, for the watchdog to calculate the carbon footprint of official travel to the United Nations climate summit in Egypt.

"The gas is always greener when you’re burning fossil fuels in the name of saving the planet," Ernst told Fox News Digital in a statement. "While giving lip service to greenies, Biden bureaucrats are blatantly emitting the greenhouse gases they demonize." 

"The double standard is clear, and Americans have had enough of this hot air," Ernst continued. "It’s time for Biden bureaucrats to face the facts: according to their own actions, American-made fossil fuels are not the enemy. I am committed to exposing this hypocrisy."

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Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, speaks during a press conference after the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon in the Russell Senate Office Building on Jan. 19, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In November, a delegation of U.S. diplomats led by Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry flew to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, for COP27, the United Nations' latest annual climate change conference. Overall, 259 federal government officials from 17 different agencies and offices were part of the delegation.

Following the summit, Ernst and fellow Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., asked the GAO to determine and disclose the total carbon footprint of the trip. However, the report Thursday stated the watchdog was unable to do so because the State Department, which houses Kerry's climate office, hasn't created a mechanism for tracking such information.

In December 2021, Biden signed an executive order to require federal agencies to track and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from travel.

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"Joe Biden and his officials say they are addressing an ‘existential’ crisis by participating in climate conferences, all while traveling on private jets to and from the conferences," Cotton said. "The Biden administration should instead focus its efforts on American energy production — or at the very least, let American taxpayers know about the private travel they are paying for."

Meanwhile, during the COP27 conference, the White House helped launch the "Net-Zero Government Initiative" alongside 18 other nations. The effort calls upon governments to "lead by example" and achieve net-zero emissions from national government operations.

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry (F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

"Americans are tired of bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. who don’t practice what they preach when it comes to protecting the environment," Capito said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. "In the Biden administration, the same people who are closing down power plants across the country and forcing Americans to buy electric vehicles are also the ones flying to climate conferences and using fossil fuels without apology."

"I’m proud to join Senator Ernst in continuing our push for accountability and stand up for those who are understandably frustrated by the hypocrisy we’ve seen time and time again."

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Also on Thursday, Ernst is introducing the Executive Branch Emissions Transparency Act, which, if passed, would mandate the federal government to calculate the total greenhouse gas emissions created from Biden administration officials, including the president himself and Kerry.

In his role as special presidential envoy for climate, Kerry regularly travels around the world, attending high-profile climate summits and diplomatic engagements in an effort to push a global transition from fossil fuels to green energy alternatives.

Kerry's office didn't respond to a request for comment.