President Biden has tapped John Podesta, his adviser on clean energy and a seasoned political strategist, to succeed John Kerry as his global representative on climate, the White House confirmed on Wednesday.
Mr. Podesta, 75, will take on that international role in addition to his current White House job overseeing $370 billion in spending on clean energy projects under the landmark 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
Mr. Kerry, 80, has told the White House that he intends to step down by the spring but has not given a specific date. Mr. Podesta is widely expected to take on the role in an acting position because, under a recently passed law, the job of special envoy would require Senate confirmation.
Mr. Podesta is a passionate veteran of the federal government’s efforts to fight climate change. The news of his appointment was first reported by The Washington Post.
He served as White House chief of staff during President Bill Clinton’s last three years in office, during which, partially at Mr. Podesta’s urging, Mr. Clinton became something of an environmentalist, promoting Everglades restoration, protecting vast areas of the national forests from commercial exploitation, saving redwood forests in California and establishing a dozen or so major national monuments by presidential proclamation.
During the George W. Bush administration, Mr. Podesta founded the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning research organization, and then went on to become an architect of President Barack Obama’s climate change agenda.
He was chairman of Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful campaign for president in 2016, and then informally advised Mr. Biden at the start of his term, pushing the White House to act more aggressively on climate change, before joining the administration in 2022.
