Some new polling released last week confirms what environmental leaders have been saying since the 2020 election was concluded: Joe Biden will enter the White House with a clear mandate to fulfill his campaign promise that the United States reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Making good on this ambitious pledge, however, will be difficult if Congress remains divided. The key to accomplishing Biden’s climate change goals, then, may very well rest on executive actions—and that, in turn, will depend on who Biden selects to be in his cabinet.  

In an effort to repair the Trump administration’s damage to the United States’ standing on the global stage—including its departure from the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement—Biden has tapped experienced statesman John Kerry for a new position, the special presidential envoy for climate.