(UnitedHeadlines.com) – March 6 will be the last day that John Kerry, 80, will work as the first U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.
Kerry’s departure from his role in the Biden administration follows a January announcement that his work would be “shifting” to focus on the 2024 election.
During an event at the end of February at the Council on Foreign Relations, Kerry said he would not be “leaving the climate fight” even though he is departing from the role. Though he will not be leading the negotiations, he will still attend the next round of climate negotiations, which will be held later this year in Baku, Azerbaijan. He has said that he hopes to continue his work to increase renewable energies and reduce the use of fossil fuels in the private sector. Kerry is also expected to be working with Yale University.
Kerry, who has six decades of public service, first served as the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts under Gov. Michael Dukakis, going on to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 1985 to 2013. In the 2004 presidential election, he was the Democratic presidential nominee, losing to incumbent George W. Bush. Kerry took over then-Vice President Joe Biden’s role as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Biden became vice president in 2009.
While serving as the Secretary of State under former President Barack Obama, Kerry negotiated and signed the 2015 Paris Agreement, which commits many of the world’s nations to combating climate change. He was named to the envoy position in 2021 after Biden won the presidential election over former President Donald Trump, who had withdrawn the U.S. from the 2015 Paris Agreement. As climate envoy, Kerry was responsible for working with countries around the globe to cut back on their greenhouse gas emissions. He led three international climate summits and helped get 30 countries to strengthen their climate targets before the 2021 summit, held in Glasgow.
Climate adviser John Podesta will take over the role as the head of the Biden administration’s international climate policy.
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