John Podesta to replace John Kerry as U.S. climate change envoy

July 10, 2024

President Biden will tap senior adviser John D. Podesta to replace outgoing U.S. special climate envoy John F. Kerry once Kerry steps down this spring, Podesta and other White House officials confirmed to The Washington Post on Wednesday.

Podesta, now a senior adviser on clean energy and a veteran Democratic strategist, will remain at the White House rather than move to the State Department in his new role, which has not previously been reported. His new title will be senior adviser to the president for international climate policy.

Podesta now oversees implementation of Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. The law devoted billions of dollars to accelerating the nation’s transition to wind, solar and other sources of clean energy. Podesta also played a critical role in brokering the 2015 Paris climate agreement as a counselor to President Barack Obama, and helped steer President Bill Clinton’s environmental policies while serving as White House chief of staff.

The move comes at a crucial time for Biden’s climate agenda and global efforts to slow Earth’s dangerous warming. The president is racing to finalize strong environmental regulations by the end of his current term, as former president Donald Trump campaigns on a pledge to undo many of those actions. The outcome of the election could influence the credibility of the United States, the world’s biggest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, at the next U.N. Climate Change Conference this fall in Azerbaijan.

“Secretary Kerry has put the U.S. back in leadership on climate around the world,” Podesta said in a phone interview with The Post on Wednesday. “And we’ll ensure that we keep up the momentum that has been built up through his efforts.”

Podesta plans to continue working on domestic deployment of clean energy. This means he will probably travel less frequently than Kerry, who kept up a fast-paced schedule, flying around the world to cajole other countries to curb their planet-warming pollution. Even so, as de facto climate envoy, Podesta will surely be called upon to smooth out conflicts and maintain contact with allies and major powers such as the European Union and China, part of Kerry’s role as the top U.S. climate diplomat.

Overseeing the tens of billions of dollars being spent under the Inflation Reduction Act is arguably a full-time job. But Podesta said he was confident that he could balance his domestic responsibilities with his new international portfolio, adding that his staff at the White House will assist with his work promoting clean energy across the United States.

In a statement, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients praised Kerry for having “tirelessly trekked around the world” over the past three years, “bringing American climate leadership back from the brink and marshalling countries around the world to take historic action to confront the climate crisis.”

“We need to keep meeting the gravity of this moment, and there is no one better than John Podesta to make sure we do,” Zients said, adding that Podesta will continue to be “at the helm of driving the implementation of the most significant climate law in history. Having served the three most recent Democratic Presidents over three decades, he is an American statesman, a fierce champion for bold climate action, and a leader who without a doubt the world will know has the trust of and speaks for the President of the United States.”

The timing of the move is in flux. Kerry has not set an exact date for his departure, although it will probably be between early March and late April.

Another factor complicating the move: The 2022 defense policy bill included a provision that requires the Senate to confirm special envoys reporting to the State Department. However, White House lawyers believe that the provision won’t apply to Podesta’s new post. Kerry was not subject to the provision when he became climate envoy.

Although Podesta will be based at the White House, he will closely coordinate with two top deputies at the State Department, Sue Biniaz and Rick Duke. Biniaz was the State Department’s lead climate attorney for nearly three decades before being named the U.S. deputy envoy in 2021.

Podesta, a longtime Democratic power broker, has served in three administrations. In 2016, while serving as the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, Podesta had his hacked emails released by WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization founded by Julian Assange.

Jake Schmidt, senior strategic director for international climate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Podesta has “big shoes to fill,” noting that Kerry established close relationships with many world leaders.

“Podesta is probably a little less known in the international community,” Schmidt said. “But it’ll be very clear to the world that he has spoken on behalf of multiple presidents and has the ear of President Biden.”

Kerry, who turned 80 at the U.N. climate talks last month in Dubai, helped clinch a landmark agreement at the summit. For the first time, the deal calls for phasing out fossil fuels, the primary driver of rising temperatures around the globe.

The next U.N. climate summit is set to take place in November in Baku, Azerbaijan.

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