At a ceremony Wednesday honoring Shaarik Zafar, who was just appointed to serve as the State Department’s Special Representative to Muslim Communities, Secretary of State John Kerry said “confronting climate change” is “a duty or responsibility laid down in scriptures.” “Confronting climate change is, in the long run, one of the greatest challenges that we face, and you can see this duty or responsibility laid down in scriptures, clearly, beginning in Genesis,” Kerry claimed. While promoting the need to “unite religious communities” in order to achieve global peace, Kerry pointed to other factors, including climate change, that he said will impact the “fates” of all people throughout the world.