Oct 8, 2020 - Energy & Climate

Biden mulls new White House climate role

Ben Geman

Illustration of a debate podium sliding off of a melting iceberg — Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Joe Biden is considering a special new White House office to coordinate and elevate global warming initiatives if he wins, Bloomberg reports (and a h/t to @CarbonBrief for flagging).

Why it matters: The story, and a similar Politico piece, show how Biden's team is thinking about how to organize his plans that would span a suite of agencies.

What they're saying: People who could lead it include former secretary of state John Kerry, Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee, and John Podesta, who worked on climate in Obama's White House and was also Bill Clinton's chief of staff, Bloomberg reports.

Flashback: The idea is hardly new. Carol Browner, who ran Bill Clinton's EPA, served as White House climate "czar" for the first couple years of Obama's tenure.

The big picture: There are several ideas in circulation for how the White House should structure its efforts.

"Another option...is whether to appoint someone to the White House National Security Council whose sole focus would be climate matters," Politico notes.

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Biden mulls new White House climate role

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