SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry has tested positive for Covid-19 at the global climate talks and is self-isolating, the State Department said in a statement Friday.
“He is fully vaccinated and boosted and experiencing mild symptoms,” spokesperson Whitney Smith said. “He is working with his negotiations team and foreign counterparts by phone to ensure a successful outcome of” the U.N. climate summit in Egypt.
The talks have run past their scheduled Friday closing time and will resume Saturday.
The U.S. is at the center of the talks, where the most divisive topic is whether to require wealthy, industrialized countries to finance a proposed fund that would pay developing nations for the damage they have suffered from climate damage. Kerry has been a key player in trying to navigate competing demands among developing countries, the European Union and China.
