U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is set to introduce the team Saturday that will advance his ambitious climate change and energy agenda to the public.
Biden, a Democrat, will formally introduce a history-making team tasked with making good on his promises to combat global warming, promote green energy and address pollution.
With Democrats clinging to a slim majority in the House of Representatives and control of the Senate still undecided, the Biden administration may achieve little success in Congress, potentially forcing it to depend on rule changes at regulatory agencies to enact change.
The former U.S. vice president to President Barak Obama will disclose more details about his climate plan when he formally introduces team members in his home state of Delaware.
The team, which environmental groups have largely praised for its experience and diversity, is comprised of six members.
Gina McCarthy, Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency administrator, will be responsible for implementing Biden’s domestic agenda in the newly created position of national climate adviser.
North Carolina’s top environmental regulator, Michael Regan, has been nominated by Biden to serve as EPA administrator. Regan, who has led the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality since 2017, previously worked at the EPA during the administrations of former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
The president-elect has chosen Democratic Congresswoman Deb Haaland to serve as interior secretary, and former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm as head of the Department of Energy.
Environmental lawyer Brenda Mallory will chair the Council on Environmental Quality, and climate expert and Biden adviser Ali Zaidi will serve as deputy national climate adviser.
If confirmed by the Republican-majority Senate, Haaland would be the first Native American to hold a U.S. cabinet position, Regan would be the first Black man to lead the EPA, and Mallory would be the first African American to head the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
While the team has been largely well received by environmental groups, the influential fossil fuel industry warns Biden, a frequent critic of the sector, to balance its climate initiatives with job preservation.
“We will … be watching closely to ensure that the incoming administration keeps President-elect Biden’s campaign promises to the energy workforce and protects the millions of jobs supported by our industry in states like New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and across the country,” American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers said in a statement.
Biden has promised to make global warming a top priority. He has pledged to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050, stop all emissions from U.S. power plants by 2035 and immediately re-enter the Paris Climate Agreement.
