President Joe Biden is naming Senior White House Advisor John Podesta to replace former Secretary of State John Kerry as the top climate diplomat in the U.S. Kerry will officially step down from his role later this spring.
We've made historic progress these last three years and I know that, in his new role as @POTUS Biden’s Senior Advisor for International Climate Policy, John Podesta will continue to grow the momentum from Glasgow, Sharm el-Sheikh, and Dubai.https://t.co/TCPRSlmgQK
— Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry (@ClimateEnvoy) January 31, 2024
Kerry is the first and only person to serve as the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate after Biden created the position when he was inaugurated in January 2021. It has been reported that he will move to a new role in Biden’s 2024 presidential campaign.
“In three years, Secretary Kerry has tirelessly trekked around the world – bringing American climate leadership back from the brink and marshaling countries around the world to take historic action to confront the climate crisis,” White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said in a statement.
“We need to keep meeting the gravity of this moment, and there is no one better than John Podesta to make sure we do. John has – and will continue to be – at the helm of driving the implementation of the most significant climate law in history.”
Podesta, a longtime Democratic strategist, has previously served as chief of staff for President Bill Clinton and counselor and climate adviser to President Barack Obama.
Podesta currently oversees Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act which, according to Breitbart, has devoted billions of dollars to speed America’s shift to clean energy including solar and wind power.
According to NBC News, a senior White House official said that Podesta would continue overseeing the Inflation Reduction Act while adding the climate duties to his job.
While Kerry has conducted his work out of the State Department, Podesta’s office will remain in the White House so that he can continue his work in both roles.
Kerry is not the only person moving from a role in Biden’s administration to a new role in his presidential campaign. According to NBC News, “Campaign officials confirmed…that Biden’s campaign was adding to its senior leadership, moving Jennifer O’Malley Dillon and Mike Donilon from their White House roles to top campaign jobs.”
