U.S. Special Envoy on Climate and former Secretary of State John Kerry intends to step down from his appointment in the Biden administration by the spring to support the American President’s reelection campaign, reported several local media.
Since 2021, the former senator, 80, has been engaging with other countries to secure commitments on climate change, notably during the recent United Nations climate summit (COP28) held in Dubai.
Kerry intends to participate in Joe Biden’s campaign to help promote the President’s efforts to raise awareness on climate change.
Kerry met with President Biden to inform him of his intention to step down on Wednesday, and Kerry’s team became aware of his decision on Saturday.
After the United States withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement during the Trump administration, Kerry led the U.S. negotiation team through three UN climate meetings. He also promoted collaboration on climate change between the two biggest polluters in the world, China and the United States.
The official is planning to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week as well as a meeting of the International Energy Agency in Paris in February.
Kerry represented Massachusetts for 28 years in the Senate and was also the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004.
A month ago, Kerry hosted his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in California, where the two countries agreed on the broad outlines of climate action, which partly formed the basis for the Dubai COP 28 agreement involving nearly 200 countries.
The news of Kerry’s resignation comes on the heels of Xie Zhenhua’s retirement announcement.