US climate envoy announces Russia trip at time of tension

The trip comes as the two nations spar over ransomware attacks blamed on gangs linked to Russia, putting Biden under domestic pressure to punish Russia over the hacking

US climate envoy John Kerry will meet with Russian officials in Moscow next week, making him the highest-ranking Biden administration official to visit Russia so far, at a time when the two countries are at odds. A terse State Department announcement Thursday said Kerry's four-day trip would be aimed at discussing “means of enhancing global climate ambition.” China and then the United States lead the globe in climate-damaging emissions of coal and petroleum fumes, but Russia, at No. 4 globally due to its dependence on coal burning, is an outsize contributor to climate change relative to the size of its economy and population. Kerry, former Secretary of State in the Obama administration, is encouraging other governments to commit to tough targets to cut emissions ahead of a U.N. global climate summit later this year.