Scoop: John Kerry preparing to leave Biden administration

• He was in the thick of COP26 negotiations in Glasgow last November that produced, for the first time, an explicit pledge to move away from coal and fossil fuel subsidies.
• But with the U.S. and China staring each other down on both trade and security issues, the prospects for further joint action with Beijing on climate have diminished.
• Kerry hasn't made a final decision and could decide to remain in his role. "I can't stress enough: Secretary Kerry has no plans to depart, and his sole focus is COP27, period, and anything else is baseless speculation," said Kerry spokesperson Whitney Smith.

Driving the news: Kerry has been outlining his ambitions, as well as his concerns, for COP27 in Egypt, which could be his last international climate summit.

• He is focused on tapping private capital to fund clean energy projects but fears that the big banks don't appreciate the peril of a warming planet and are still financing too many fossil fuel projects.
• "For every $1 invested in low carbon energy supply, $1.10 is invested in fossil fuels," Kerry said in a speech at the Council of Foreign Relations on Tuesday.

What we're hearing: Kerry is motivated to leave for several reasons.

• He doesn’t relish being hauled before his former colleagues in a potentially Republican-controlled Senate or House to defend his approach to lowering carbon emissions — including his family's private jet. For government trips, Kerry flies commercial.
• While Kerry enjoys a wealthy lifestyle from his wife's fortune, he is interested in returning to the private sector to increase his own personal net worth. (Before entering the administration, Kerry drew a $5 million salary from Bank of America.)
• And he's hinted to colleagues that he has achieved all that can be reasonably accomplished in the current political environment — both domestically and internationally.

What we're watching: This year’s COP summit, where participants will be closely watching the outcome of the midterms on Nov. 8, runs from from Nov. 6-18.

• Kerry's departure could be part of a broader administration reorganization, which the White House has telegraphed.

The intrigue: In the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress required all presidential envoys to be confirmed by the Senate, meaning that Biden’s potential pick could face a bruising battle to get confirmed.

• If Biden decides to keep the presidential envoy role, rather than opt for a climate negotiator at the State Department, he will have to decide whether to replace Kerry with a high-profile former politician or a technocrat who might be more easily confirmed.

Zoom out: After passing some $370 billion to reduce domestic carbon emissions, most of the Biden administration’s focus will be on regulations and convincing the private sector — including major American financial institutions — to invest more heavily in green energy.

• The administration is also debating how to use the World Bank to leverage investments for green projects in developing countries and has weighed removing the bank's Trump-appointed president, David Malpass, after he made comments that appeared to question if humans caused climate change.
• At the same time, congressional Republicans are eager to grill big financial institutions at oversight hearings focused on so-called "woke capitalism," including any divestment from fossil fuel industries.

The bottom line: Kerry is both indefatigable and a little frustrated. There’s not a meeting — or a flight — he won’t take to urge other countries or companies to do more on climate.

• "Those of us trying to create the new clean-energy economy are handicapped by the absence of concessionary funding," he told the New Yorker in a story published this week.
• "If we had tens of billions of dollars, we could leverage this transition very quickly and get people to make smarter choices."