Withdrawal from Biden government: US climate representative John Kerry wants to resign

Leaving the Biden Administration
US climate representative John Kerry appears to want to resign

January 14, 2024, 12:44 am

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Since US President Biden moved to the White House in early 2021, John Kerry has taken over as US Climate Ambassador. According to media reports, the veteran diplomat now wants to quit. Instead, the 80-year-old is said to be working on Biden's campaign team.

US Climate Representative John Kerry plans to leave US President Joe Biden's administration, media reports continue. The 80-year-old wants to step down as special envoy for climate in the spring, the news portal reported. “Axios”The “New York Times” And this “Washington Post” citing people familiar with the plans. Democrats are expected to join Biden's campaign team and support him as he considers the presidential election in November. Accordingly, Kerry wants to highlight Biden's successes in the fight against global warming during the campaign. Kerry is expected at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week.

According to Axios, Kerry believes Biden's re-election is critical to climate progress in the United States and around the world. The news portal quoted a source close to the government. Accordingly, Kerry intends to relinquish the post of Special Climate Envoy before spring. The White House and Kerry's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kerry has been the climate ambassador since Biden's term began. He took office at a time when Biden began returning to the Paris climate accord. During former US President Donald Trump's tenure, the US withdrew from the agreement. As Special Envoy for Climate, Kerry led US delegations to several climate summits, most recently the World Climate Change Conference in Dubai. Kerry served as Secretary of State under then-US President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017.

“The hardest thing in diplomacy”

At a climate summit in Dubai in December, Kerry tried to persuade China to cooperate in the fight against climate change, despite strained relations with the United States, and was able to show some success. Kerry expressed satisfaction and gratitude at the world climate conference's decision to move away from coal, oil and gas – even if his government wanted clearer words in the final speech. But given the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and other challenges around the world, nearly 200 states have come together in a spirit of multilateralism to try to define the common good. “It's a very difficult thing in diplomacy. It's a very difficult thing in politics,” he said in Dubai.

While the final text called for states to divest from fossil fuels, it was weaker than the clear phase of coal, oil and gas previously discussed. Kerry recalled the findings of science: To maintain the 1.5 degree global warming target agreed in Paris in 2015, humanity must urgently reach the peak of greenhouse gas emissions and reduce them by at least 43 percent by 2030 and 60 percent by 2035.

Biden has made the fight against global warming a central theme of his presidency. The Democratic politician has brought the United States back into the 2015 Paris climate accord, from which his predecessor Donald Trump withdrew, and is aggressively pushing forward the expansion of renewable energy in the United States. However, for many environmentalists, he did not take decisive enough action to move away from fossil fuels. Conservative Republicans, on the other hand, accuse the president of harming the economy with his climate policy.