Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones wrote a nice article about Kerry as a climate hawk

[karynnj]

Kerry is among the most fierce advocates for climate action in the Senate. Here he is in a floor speech from August talking about why climate change is "as significant a level of importance" as Syria and Iran:

Well, this issue actually is of as significant a level of importance, because it affects life itself on the planet. Because it affects ecosystems on which the oceans and the land depend for the relationship of the warmth of our earth and the amount of moisture that there is and all of the interactions that occur as a consequence of our climate.
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That's not to say that Clinton hasn't also expressed interest in climate change; she has. But it seems that it would be far higher up the priorities list for Kerry.

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/12/john-kerry-would-be-climate-hawk-state