Biden Appoints John Kerry As US Special Envoy For Climate Problems

US climate envoy John Kerry (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - President of the United States (US) elected, Joe Biden appointed former Secretary of State John Kerry as special climate envoy. Biden's transition team announced, calling this a sign Biden is placing the issue at the center of his foreign policy.

Kerry, whose appointment does not require confirmation by the US Senate, will have a seat on the National Security Council at the White House, the transition team said. The appointment also marks the first time an official at the agency will be dedicated to climate issues.

Biden has promised to reverse direction on climate from President Donald Trump, who casts doubt on mainstream climate science. Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, and dismantled Obama-era climate and environmental regulations to increase drilling, mining and manufacturing.

Meanwhile, the secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, Kerry, 76, called climate change "the world's scariest weapon of mass destruction". On his journey from glaciers in Greenland to the Solomon Islands, Kerry emphasized cooperation in tackling climate change.

He will face the challenging task of gaining world trust after Trump rejects climate diplomacy. When Trump denounced the Paris agreement as too costly for Americans, China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is positioning itself as a climate catalyst, announcing new targets in September to reduce pollution.

Prior to the historic Paris agreement, Kerry encouraged China and the United States, the world's second-largest emitters, to agree on emissions targets and work towards a global agreement.

Kerry, who is also a longtime liberal senator from Massachusetts and the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, is likely to get started quickly because Biden has promised to rejoin the Paris agreement as soon as he takes office.

National security

Unlike Trump. Biden believes climate change jeopardizes national security because it causes regional instability and requires more humanitarian missions by the US military.

The Biden administration, which takes office on January 20, is likely to help encourage countries to move away from coal, oil and natural gas, develop renewable power and advanced batteries, and preserve fragile ecosystems such as forests.

That work will require Kerry to do more than advocate for action under the United Nations climate framework.

"He is well aware that the responsibility for the next few years is not sitting in the big UN negotiating room, putting the finishing touches on the Paris rulebook, but gathering the world around key areas of action," said Paul Bodnar, senior director for energy and climate at under Obama.

Kerry is also likely to work with his White House counterparts, which is expected to be announced soon, with a focus on domestic climate issues.

Late last year, Kerry launched World War Zero, a bipartisan group of world leaders and celebrities to fight climate change.