LONDON — John Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, warned the U.K. and Germany against a “business as usual” approach to fossil fuels.

Speaking to POLITICO’s Power Play podcast, the former presidential contender flagged the risks of a lack of “concentrated effort” between nations to hit the global warming goals set by the Paris Agreement.

And, asked about the U.K.’s decision to announce further licensing rounds for fossil fuel drilling and Germany’s continued coal generation, Kerry said: “I worry a little bit that in various places around the world there’s too much business as usual. There’s not enough concentrated effort to all help each other with this transition.”

War in Europe and the Middle East, as well as the COVID pandemic had, Kerry said, “all taken a toll on our ability to just be focused on this in the way that we ought to be.

“But, we can’t go back,” he added. “Nobody should be going backwards. We must meet the Paris goals.”

Kerry, who is currently in Dubai for the COP28 climate summit, told POLITICO’s Anne McElvoy that Europe has done a “great job of setting the example and helping to define the policy” towards meeting Paris Agreement targets, but said leaders now must use the summit to “really lay out the road ahead” for cutting emissions.

COP has entered its second week, with negotiators beginning the so-called global stocktake to reach agreement on climate pledges to reduce fossil fuel use.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced criticism after spending just 11 hours at COP. He vowed in July to “max out” U.K. fossil fuel reserves and authorized a fresh batch of 100 new licenses for drilling in the North Sea, although the U.K. is sticking by its headline goal of cutting carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050.

The North Sea Transition Authority, a U.K. regulator, approved drilling in Rosebank, the largest undeveloped fossil fuel field in British waters, in September.