Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm declared at South By Southwest that climate change is an “existential crisis” and the U.S. can learn from what China is doing, which she said is “encouraging.”

During a sit-down interview with Wajahat Ali at the event, Granholm argued that China has been “sensitive” and has “invested a lot” in solutions. The energy secretary said she’s hopeful the U.S. can “learn from what China is doing.”

She also made an excited pitch for people to attend her speech on climate change at the multi-day Austin festival.

“It is an existential threat! Do you care about climate change? Do you care about the future for you, for your children? Do you want to know how we can solve it through cool technology? I’ve got a very snappy Prezi [presentation] that I’m going to be doing. How can anybody turn that down? So come to my speech,” she excitedly exclaimed.

Both clips quickly spread across social media.

If you’d like a spoiler on one of Granholm’s recommendations, it’s to learn some lessons from massive polluter China and their climate change initiatives. China is not only the most populated country on the planet, it also reached a coal production record last year, far eclipsing the U.S.

Ali asked about both the U.S. and China causing climate change damage through negligence.

“How do we hold China and ourselves accountable for what we are doing around the world?” he asked.

Granholm touted U.S. efforts to push other countries to agree to aggressive climate change policies, but she offered praise for China on the issue in a clip that also aired on Fox & Friends.

The recommendation combined with Granholm’s warning of a looming “existential threat” inspired plenty of mockery among critics.

Granholm claimed China’s investment in climate change initiatives is “encouraging” for her. China is the biggest polluter in the world. The Council of Foreign Relations reported in 2021 that China was responsible for more than a quarter of the annual greenhouse gas emissions.

Watch above via Fox News.

The post Energy Sec. Granholm Says U.S. Can ‘Learn’ From China on Climate Change in Hyper SXSW Clip: ‘It Is An Existential Threat! Do You Care?’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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