Maxwell Bernstein | November 25, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden has picked former secretary of state John Kerry to be his presidential climate envoy, according to the Washington Post. 

John Kerry tweeted, “America will soon have a government that treats the climate crisis as the urgent national security threat it is. I’m proud to partner with the President-elect, our allies, and the young leaders of the climate movement to take on this crisis as the President’s Climate Envoy.” 

Kerry will be tasked with mending fractured relationships with global leaders when it comes to combating climate change. The Trump administration withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord and rolled back rules to reduce the United States’ emissions.  

This is the first time that the National Security Council will include someone whose designated role is to fight climate change. With this role, Kerry will exercise soft power to convince China and India to cut greenhouse-gas emissions as their economies continue to grow.