Special Presidential Envoy for Climate of the United States | |
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Incumbent Vacant | |
United States Department of State | |
Type | Special Presidential Envoy |
Status | Not Confirmed |
Member of | United States National Security Council (NSC) |
Reports to | President of the United States |
Appointer | President of the United States |
Term length | The pleasure of the president |
Inaugural holder | John Kerry |
Formation | January 20, 2021 |
Website | Official website |
The United States special presidential envoy for climate (SPEC) was a position within the U.S. Department of State responsible for "leading U.S. diplomacy to address the climate crisis" during Joe Biden's presidency. [1] The special envoy was a member of The Principals Committee of the National Security Council, reporting directly to the President. [2]
In April 2025, under Donald Trump's second administration, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the position had been abolished. [3] [4]
There had been previous climate policy advisors in the White House fulfilling similar roles. Carol Browner was director of the now-defunct White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy from 2009 to 2011. [5] Barack Obama had appointed Todd Stern to the role of special envoy for climate change in 2009. Stern later served as U.S. chief negotiator for the Paris Agreement. [6] Following Stern's departure in mid-2016, Jonathan Pershing took over as US climate envoy until the end of the administration. [7] [8]
In November 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced former Secretary of State John Kerry would serve in a newly created role as the first Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. This new position made him a member of the United States National Security Council (NSC). It was the first time that the NSC would have an official dedicated to climate change issues and to addressing the climate crisis as one affecting national security. [9] [10] [11] [12]
The term "Climate Czar" was used informally to describe Kerry's position. [13]
On January 13, 2024, sources close to Kerry revealed that he would leave this position by the upcoming spring. [14] [15] Later that month, it was announced that John Podesta would succeed John Kerry as envoy. [16]
Since Trump's second inauguration in January 2025, the position has been left vacant.
No. | Portrait | Officeholder | Term start | Term end | President | |
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1 | ![]() | John Kerry | January 20, 2021 | March 6, 2024 | Joe Biden | |
2 | ![]() | John Podesta | March 6, 2024 | January 20, 2025 | ||
Former Secretary of State John Kerry will fight climate change full-time as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and will sit on the National Security Council. This marks the first time that the NSC would include an official dedicated to climate change, reflecting the president-elect's commitment to addressing climate change as an urgent national security issue.