John Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate in the Biden administration, is planning to depart his role this winter, according to a person familiar with his plans.
A former secretary of state and former senator for Massachusetts, Kerry, 80, has spent the past three years criss-crossing the globe in his specially created job, one that was intended to showcase the administration’s commitment to climate on the global stage.
His decision to join the Biden administration surprised some observers who expected his long career in government service would end with his term as secretary of state to President Obama, as did his choice to stay in the special envoy role as long as he did. He initially planned on doing it for only one year.
“Don’t remind me of that,” he joked in an interview with the Globe last year.
Kerry, who as secretary of state played a key role in negotiating the Paris Climate Accord in 2015, spent his time as special envoy cajoling other countries to raise their ambition to cut emissions — an effort that culminated at three annual UN climate conferences, in Scotland, Egypt, and Dubai.
He also held single-track climate negotiations with China, an effort he saw as crucial for cutting global emissions despite rising tensions between China and the United States.
Kerry had been considering his departure for some time. Last February, after he informed Biden he planned to stay in the job at least through November’s UN Climate Conference in Dubai, he told the Globe that worldwide progress on climate was lagging.
“I think it definitely feels more dire,” Kerry said at the time. “A compelling reason to push on.”
Kerry’s departure was first reported by Axios. He is flying to Davos this weekend for the World Economic Forum annual meeting, a gathering of wealthy business leaders and politicians where he has become a fixture over the course of his career.
Jess Bidgood can be reached at Jess.Bidgood@globe.com. Follow her @jessbidgood.