John Kerry in Washington DC on 6 February. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP Former secretary of state accuses oil and gas companies of ‘business as usual’ at major climate summit in New York Countries are ignoring commitments they made less than a year ago to shift away from fossil fuels and to provide aid to those most vulnerable to the climate crisis , a host of leading figures have admitted during a gloomy start to a major climate summit in New York. Al Gore , the former US vice-president, and John Kerry , the former US secretary of state and climate envoy, have led the condemnation of the largest greenhouse gas emitters, led by China and the US, for failing to follow a UN pact signed in Dubai by nearly 200 countries in December to “transition away” from oil, coal and gas. “We made an agreement in Dubai to transition away from fossil fuels,” said Kerry, who was the US lead climate negotiator at the time. “The problem? We aren’t doing that. We’re not implementing. The implications for everybody, and life on this planet, is gigantic.” Kerry, who in his previous position defended the US’s role as it became the world’s leading oil and gas producer under Joe Biden , admitted that the US needed to do more and said a pause placed on booming liquified natural gas export permits by the US president should remain. “The demand is what is crushing us right now,” Kerry said of the surge in gas exports. “I have to tell you all around the world people are falling short or not even trying. In Dubai almost 200 countries agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in a way that’s fair, equitable and orderly … and they [fossil fuel companies] are just plowing ahead, like […]