John Kerry (along with his granddaughter Isabelle) could re-sign the Paris Agreement

The former Secretary of State under Barak Obama will serve as the Biden administration’s special presidential envoy for climate change.

On April 22, 2016, then-Obama Secretary of State John Kerry officially signed the U.S. document of accession to the Paris Agreement. At the time of the signing, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Kerry was holding his two-year-old granddaughter Isabelle Dobbs-Higginson.

A symbolic act with which Kerry tried to amplify a message that on countless occasions has been spread: the fight against climate change is not only an urgent need of the present of the planet and humans but a commitment to the well-being of future generations.

The president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, has presented on Monday, November 23, the main leaders of his next government team including John Kerry as the new special presidential envoy for climate change, in addition to occupying a seat on the National Security Council (see in La Vanguardia).

As it will be remembered, on June 1, 2017, the government of Donald Trump began confirming its decision to withdraw the United States from the climate agreement approved in the French capital. The withdrawal became effective on December 4, see in La Vanguardia.

Once the victory of the presidential candidacy of Joe Biden and Kama Harris is ratified, the position of the United States in the face of the climate crisis could change with some speed. Biden and Kerry (who actively participated in the presidential campaign) have stated on several occasions that their country must re-engage with the rest of the countries in the fight against climate change and that the Paris Agreement is a necessary instrument in this joint action.

After knowing the names of the future positions of the United States government, John Kerry has taken advantage of his Twitter account (where he has almost 3.5 million followers) to thank the appointment and to show his willingness for the United States to return to the Paris Agreement as soon as possible. John Kerry’s first two tweets following the announcement of his appointment leave no room for doubt: (It will be an honor to work with our allies and partners, alongside the rising young leaders of the climate movement, to address the climate crisis with the seriousness and urgency it deserves. [Traducción no oficial]).

(The work we started with the Paris Agreement is far from finished. I will return to government to get America back on track to address the greatest challenge of this generation and those to come. The climate crisis demands nothing less than all hands on it. [Traducción no oficial])

In addition to his activity in environmental and climate matters during his position as US Secretary of State, John Kerry stood out in this area in 2019 when he presented the World War Zero initiative, with the aim of promoting the participation of citizens, companies and institutions in the international dialogue that allows to face climate change. The designation ‘Geurra World Zero’ aims to make it clear that climate change is not only an environmental problem but also a danger to security and peace.

Documentation

John Kerry (born December 11, 1943 in Aurora, Colorado) was U.S. Secretary of State from February 1, 2013 to January 20, 2017, in Barack Obama’s second presidential term.

He was a state coach for Massachusetts from 1985 to 2013, serving as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2009 to 2013.

Kerry was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in the 2004 presidential election, losing to Republican nominee George W. Bush.

A graduate in Political Science from Yale University in 1966, he enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1966, and during 1968 and 1969 served for four months in South Vietnam as an officer-in-charge (OIC) of a Swift ship. Upon his return to the United States, Kerry joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War organization, for which he would be a spokesperson, standing out as an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War.

Source: The Vanguard