John Kerry handed Putin 'keys' to energy policy: Dr. Ben Carson

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate urged world to accelerate push toward green energy amid Russia-Ukraine crisis

Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson joined "Varney & Co.," Thursday and argued that Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry handed Russian President Vladimir Putin the "keys" to energy policies. Carson also suggested Kerry's using the Ukrainian refugee crisis to shift the focus on climate change.

KERRY PUSHES 45% CUT IN CARBON EMISSIONS BY 2030, DODGES QUESTION ON MANCHIN CALL FOR MORE ENERGY PRODUCTION

JOHN KERRY: If we were to apply just a little bit of logic here, we would recognize that yes, green energy, renewable energy are lofty and admirable goals. However, in order to get there, you need to use what you have already. You don't throw away what you have already, which puts you in an even deeper hole to dig out of…the things that we're replacing, the production in this company, in this country are dirtier than the ones that we have. 

We have the cleanest air and the cleanest water since we've had measurements for those things during the previous administration. We were energy-independent. We're a net exporter of energy. We were able to control the narrative. We took all of those keys, and we handed them over to Vladimir Putin, which obviously made him start thinking about other things that he can do. 

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW: