Allison Crimmins is an American climate scientist and the director of the National Climate Assessment in the United States since 2021. [1] She was appointed by President Joe Biden, and replaced Trump appointee Betsy Weatherhead. [2] [3]
She has a master of science in oceanography from San Francisco State University and a master in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and worked with the U.S. Global Change Research Program in 2016. She currently works for the Environmental Protection Agency. [4] In 2020, she called for the United States to have a "Department of Climate" to deal with climate change. [5]
The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, and composed of senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials.
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is a division of the Executive Office of the President that coordinates federal environmental efforts in the United States and works closely with agencies and other White House offices on the development of environmental and energy policies and initiatives.
Lael Brainard is an American economist serving as the 22nd Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve since May 23, 2022. Prior to her term as vice chair, Brainard appointed a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since 2014. She previously served as the United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs from 2010 to 2013.
Catherine Mary Russell is an American attorney, political adviser, and director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office. She was the United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues from May 8, 2013, until January 20, 2017. Before that, she was chief of staff to the Second Lady of the United States, Jill Biden. On December 10, 2021, she was appointed the executive director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Russell took office as UNICEF head on February 1, 2022.
Energy Czar, and also later Climate Czar, is a nickname, using the political term "czar", for the person in the Government of the United States given authority over energy or climate policy within the executive branch. This has never been the official title of any office, but has often been informally used to refer to various officials since the 1970s.
Reta Jo Lewis is an American attorney, former diplomat, and politician who is the president and chair of the Export–Import Bank of the United States.
Regina McCarthy is an American air quality expert serving as the first White House National Climate Advisor under U.S. President Joe Biden. She served as the 13th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2013 to 2017 under U.S. President Barack Obama.
Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan is an American political advisor who currently serves as the United States National Security Advisor to President Joe Biden. He was previously the deputy assistant to President Barack Obama, National Security Advisor to Vice President Biden, deputy chief of staff to Hillary Clinton at the U.S. Department of State, senior advisor to the U.S. government at the Iran nuclear negotiations, and senior policy advisor to Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, as well as visiting professor at Yale Law School.
The environmental policy of the Donald Trump administration represented a shift from the policy priorities and goals of the preceding Barack Obama administration. Where President Obama's environmental agenda prioritized the reduction of carbon emissions through the use of renewable energy with the goal of conserving the environment for future generations, the Trump administration policy was for the US to attain energy independence based on fossil fuel use and to rescind many environmental regulations. By the end of Trump's term, his administration had rolled back 98 environmental rules and regulations, leaving an additional 14 rollbacks still in progress. As of early 2021, the Biden administration was making a public accounting of regulatory decisions under the Trump administration that had been influenced by politics rather than science.
Céline R. Gounder is an American infectious disease physician, internist, epidemiologist, filmmaker, and medical journalist who specializes in infectious disease and global health. She was a member of the COVID-19 Advisory Board transition team of U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden.
Shalanda Helen Baker is the deputy Director for Energy Justice and Secretary’s Advisor on Equity at the United States Department of Energy, and is the current nominee to serve as Director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the US Department of Energy in the Biden administration. She is also a professor of law, professor of public policy and urban affairs at Northeastern University.
Christine Elizabeth Wormuth is an American defense official and career civil servant who serves as the United States secretary of the Army since 2021, the first woman to serve in this position. Wormuth previously served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2014 to 2016.
Julia Nesheiwat is an American national security adviser who served as the 10th homeland security advisor in the Trump administration from 2020 to 2021. She also served in the Bush and Obama administrations.
Elizabeth M. "Liz" Allen is an American political advisor who serves as acting under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. She previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs and as White House deputy communications director during the Obama administration.
Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory in the 2020 presidential election over Republican incumbent president Donald Trump. He was inaugurated alongside Kamala Harris, the first woman, first African American, and first Asian American vice president. Biden entered office amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic crisis, and increased political polarization.
Robert Farrell Bonnie is the current Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation, having been confirmed by the Senate on November 16, 2021, by a vote of 76-19. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Senior Advisor, Climate, in the Office of the Secretary in the United States Department of Agriculture. He was appointed on Jan. 20, 2021.
Jainey Kumar Bavishi is the director of the New York City Mayor's Office of Climate Resiliency. She oversees a $20 billion plan to prepare New York City, including the 520 miles of the city’s coastline, for the impacts of climate change. Bavishi was the associate director for climate preparedness at the White House Council on Environmental Quality during the Obama administration, where she led the implementation of the climate preparedness pillar of the president's Climate Action Plan.
The environmental policy of the Joe Biden administration includes a series of laws, regulations, and programs introduced by United States President Joe Biden since he took office in January 2021. Many of the actions taken by the Biden administration have reversed the policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Kelu Chao is a Taiwanese American journalist. She is acting interim CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), appointed on January 20, 2021.
Elizabeth C. Weatherhead, more commonly known as Betsy Weatherhead, is an American climatologist, atmospheric scientist, government official, and professor. She was appointed in 2020 by United States president Donald Trump to head the National Climate Assessment (NCA).