Trancsript: John Kerry on Climate-Change Conscious

BALI, Indonesia, Dec. 10, 2007— -- Sen. John Kerry sat down with ABC News' Margaret Conley about the urgency of climate change.

Margaret Conley (MC): How serious is the issue of climate change?

Sen. John Kerry (JK): Urgent. Absolutely urgent. It's about as serious as any issue we could confront internationally and nationally.

MC: How soon do you think we'll be seeing impacts? It's hard to predict.

JK: We are already seeing impacts. We see impacts across our country now. Increased drought, intensity of storms, movement of species and vegetation, any infestation of insects in parts of the country where they didn't use to survive. We're seeing the impacts today.

MC: Some people are saying that it's serious enough to lead to a collapse of civilization or a global catastrophe. Do you agree with that?

JK: If global climate change is not responded to adequately, it has all the ability to be able to change life as we know it on earth, and to be catastrophic in its proportions. That's what the scientists tell us. That's not political talk. That is scientific analysis. That it will spread disease. It will dry up sources of water. It will create deserts where there are forests. It will change whole islands and lowlands will be wiped out by increased sea level. I mean these are all catastrophes. Will we get there? Obviously I and others who are working at this believe we don't have to and that we can avoid that. But we have to take action now in order to do that.

MC: And it could happen in our lifetime?

JK: It is happening now. There are profound changes that are taking place in all kinds of different aspects of life in our country and in other countries as a consequence of global climate change. Ice is melting faster in the arctic. The Greenland ice sheet which was completely stable in 1990 is now melting at the rate of 800 billion metric tons a year. These are profound changes and what you don't want to do, is tempt a tipping point over which you have no control. Nobody can say with certainty what happens if you go beyond these things. So if we are witnessing these dangers already, responsible action means do something about it.

MC: Do you think climate change will be a differentiating issue for the presidential election?

JK: Well obviously it depends on who is nominated whether it's a differentiating issue. All of the Democrats support mandatory efforts to reduce emissions and want to rejoin the world in negotiating Kyoto. I think there are only two Republican candidates who talk about it at all. So there is a difference between the parties in their approach to this. I think young people particularly, but almost any thinking person, I think the polls are overwhelming in America that people are concerned about climate change. I think if you want to be president of the United States you ought to know how to deal with this issue.

MC: If you were running, what would you do differently from some of these candidates?

JK: Oh, I don't want to get into those kinds of distinctions. I think that the Democratic candidates have put forward clear platforms that embrace a real response to global climate change. I'm convinced that if one of them is elected that we're going to go down a very different path on this issue.

MC: Will you endorse one of the candidates?

JK: I really have not made up my mind. I'm inclined probably just to not be directly involved but I need to see, sort of, more directly when I get back where I think things stand.

MC: Kyoto hasn't been ratified by two administrations now. Do you think a change in administration will bring a change in U.S. policy?

JK: It'll bring a change in U.S. policy. Kyoto won't be ratified as it was. Kyoto has to be changed so that it involves less developed countries and a global solution. If there is a global solution, I'm confident the United States Senate will ratify something that's appropriate.

To listen to the interview, click here.