Sources reveal that US climate envoy John Kerry is set to resign from his position to focus on President Joe Biden‘s re-election campaign, according to officials briefed on the matter.
The former senator and secretary of state, who held the climate role for three years, will reportedly be involved in promoting Mr Biden’s work on combating global warming.
The 80-year-old conveyed his decision to his staff on Saturday.
In November, Americans will participate in the electoral process to choose their next president.
Mr Kerry’s departure follows the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, where he helped negotiate an agreement for countries to move away from using fossil fuels.
During his tenure, he also worked effectively with China despite strained diplomatic ties.
Alongside Beijing’s top climate official Xie Zhenhua, he pushed for their two countries – the largest emitters of greenhouse gases – to work towards tripling renewable energy globally by 2030.
“The climate crisis is a universal threat to humankind and we all have a responsibility to deal with it as rapidly as we can,” he said during a trip to the Chinese capital last year.
The former secretary of state was key to brokering the landmark 2015 Paris climate deal
As secretary of state under President Barack Obama, Mr Kerry was key to brokering the crucial 2015 Paris climate agreement.
That deal saw nearly the whole world for the first time support a common strategy to cut the greenhouse gas emissions which cause global warming.
Mr Biden has pledged to cut US emissions in half by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. Two years ago, he passed $369bn (£290bn; €337bn) worth of green subsidies through Congress in a landmark bill.
While carbon pollution from greenhouse gases in the US went down by almost 2% last year – this was not fast enough to meet the 2030 target, according to an independent research firm.