John Kerry: Countries failing to deal with climate change

“There are many parts of the world where people have retreated slightly. I think it's a very, very short-sighted myopic view of the world for people to deny the science and procrastinate and not do the things that we've been warned we need to do.”

Waihiga Mwaura speaks to former US Secretary of State John Kerry about why he thinks governments are retreating from efforts to deal with climate change.

He spoke to the BBC during this year’s Our Ocean Conference, an international forum which Kerry launched in 2014 to help protect the world’s oceans.

He was the first US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate from 2021 to 2024, and since then has continued his work in climate solutions.

With other world events in mind, Kerry helped negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran as President Barack Obama's secretary of state and we get his take on the current US-Iran conflict and subsequent peace plan.

Thank you to the Focus on Africa team for its help in making this programme.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with one of Africa’s youngest billionaires Mohammed Dewji, former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa and Sierra Leone’s First Lady Fatima Bio. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura

Producer: Cordelia Hemming

Editor: Damon Rose

(Image: John Kerry. Credit: Reuters)