John Kerry resigns as US climate envoy

John Kerry, President Biden's special envoy for climate, plans to resign from the Biden administration in the spring, according to two people familiar with his plans.

Mr. Kerry, 80, has been the president's top diplomat on climate change since early 2021 and is trying to push governments around the world to aggressively cut their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

He led the U.S. negotiating team through three United Nations climate summits, reasserting U.S. leadership after the country withdrew from the Paris climate accord during the Trump administration.

Mr. Kerry defended cooperation on global warming between the United States and China, the world's two biggest polluters, at a time of tension.

On Wednesday, Mr. Kerry met with Mr. Biden at the White House to inform the president of his intention to resign, according to a person familiar with the meeting. On Saturday, his staff learned of his decision at a hastily arranged meeting, said the person, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss personnel matters.

Mr. Kerry told staff he planned to leave in the coming months, and is widely expected to become involved in the 2024 presidential campaign to help raise awareness of Mr. Biden's work on climate change enlarge. No successor has yet been identified.

In the meantime, Mr. Kerry plans to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week.

Mr. Kerry's plans were first reported by Axios.

Kerry, a former Massachusetts senator, Democratic presidential nominee and secretary of state under President Barack Obama, brought celebrity status to global climate summits.