Mr. Biden said he would name Mr. Kerry to a cabinet-level climate post, giving him the job of persuading global leaders that the United States is prepared to resume a leadership role.
Excerpt from this story from the New York Times:
When John Kerry served as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state, he helped steer the negotiation of the Paris Agreement, locking down commitments from nearly 200 nations — including his own — to begin to reverse the dangerous warming of the planet.
Now his diplomatic task may be even tougher.
On Monday, president-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. said he intended to name Mr. Kerry his special presidential envoy for climate, a cabinet-level position in the new administration. In that role, Mr. Kerry will need to persuade skeptical global leaders, burned by the Trump administration’s hostility toward climate science, that the United States is prepared to resume its leadership role — and will stay the course, regardless of the Biden administration’s future.
Those who know him best say Mr. Kerry is well suited to the role. He has been advocating for action on climate change since he attended the first Rio Earth Summit in 1992, where the framework of United Nations climate talks was formed.
He also knows the struggle of persuading his own country to take action, having co-authored climate change legislation as a Massachusetts senator that ultimately failed. Then, after joining the Obama administration, he made climate change a core part of the State Department.
As special presidential envoy for climate, Mr. Kerry will participate in ministerial-level meetings with a cabinet rank. He will not have to face Senate confirmation, according to Mr. Biden’s transition team.
The move marks the first time the National Security Council will include an official dedicated to climate change, “reflecting the president-elect’s commitment to addressing climate change as an urgent national security issue,” the transition team said in a statement.
According to Mr. Biden’s transition team, the president-elect also will name in December a White House climate policy coordinator who will help streamline domestic climate change policies throughout the various federal agencies.
