President-elect Joe Biden has selected a special presidential envoy for the climate crisis. The former Secretary of State John Kerry will serve for this role as part of the incoming administration. Kerry will serve in the role as part of the National Security Council, which the president-elect’s transition team said will reflect his administration’s “commitment to addressing climate change as an urgent national security issue.” The former Secretary of State under Barack Obama and a former Democratic presidential candidate, who lost to George W Bush in 2004, was among the architects of the landmark Paris climate agreement. President Donald Trump has withdrawn the US. Biden intends to rejoin the accord. Point to be noted that Kerry’s position is not a part of the Biden cabinet and won’t require Senate confirmation.
Kerry joins several Obama-era state department officials potentially returning to the White House as part of the former vice president’s incoming administration. Biden issued a statement and announced his latest appointments in his administration, including his Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who previously served as a deputy secretary of state and deputy national security adviser under the former president. Biden said, “We have no time to lose when it comes to our national security and foreign policy. I need a team ready on Day One to help me reclaim America’s seat at the head of the table, rally the world to meet the biggest challenges we face, and advance our security, prosperity, and values”. Vice president-elect Kamala Harris said that the moment we walk into the White House, we will inherit a series of unprecedented challenges.
The work we began with the Paris Agreement is far from done. I'm returning to government to get America back on track to address the biggest challenge of this generation and those that will follow. The climate crisis demands nothing less than all hands on deck. pic.twitter.com/xxfakodQ6d
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) November 23, 2020
Kamala Harris said, “These crisis-tested national security and foreign policy leaders have the knowledge and expertise to keep our country safe and restore and advance America’s leadership around the world”. Kerry also delivered his feelings following the announcement of the transition team, he said, “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”. The president-elect has also selected Alejandro Mayorkas to run the Department of Homeland Security, Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence, Linda Thomas-Greenfield as the US Ambassador to the United Nations, and Jake Sullivan as his national security adviser.