The Biden White House will appoint longtime Democratic operative John Podesta as the new leading U.S. climate diplomat when current envoy John Kerry steps aside in coming months.
Kerry has been widely criticized for jet-setting around the planet to caution world leaders that they must cut back on energy consumption.
White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients shared the news in a written statement to media organizations. “We need to keep meeting the gravity of this moment, and there is no one better than John Podesta to make sure we do.”
JUST IN – Biden will tap John Podesta to replace outgoing U.S. "special climate envoy" John Kerry — WaPo pic.twitter.com/n6N8nCHxyY
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Zients continued, “John has — and will continue to be — at the helm of driving the implementation of the most significant climate law in history.”
As for the departing Kerry, he was a key player under former President Barack Obama in formulating the controversial Paris Climate Agreement. Many critics charged it gave a free pass to China and India — the world’s leading polluters.
Kerry, a former failed presidential candidate himself, will take on a new position in Biden’s reelection campaign. This, of course, will mean more private flights around the nation to ensure another four years for his 81-year-old boss.
The soon-to-be campaign worker posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Podesta is a “longtime climate ally and advocate. He knows the issue, and he’s worked with NGOs and administrations over a long period of time.”
Kerry was the first individual named as the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate-related causes. The post was created when Biden became president in 2021.
He further claimed that the Biden White House is responsible for “historic progress these last three years. Kerry expressed his confidence that Podesta “will continue to grow the momentum from Glasgow, Sharm el-Sheikh and Dubai.”
Podesta was also instrumental in the Democratic-driven Inflation Reduction Act. This mislabeled package drove inflation skyward and yet is celebrated by the Biden administration as a milestone.
He assumed his current role of overseeing that legislation in Sept. 2022, when he joined the Biden administration.
Podesta’s Democratic resume includes chairing Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign and serving as former President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff.
