It was announced on December 15 that Gina McCarthy would become Joe Biden’s new Climate Czar. But what exactly does a Climate Czar do? And who is Gina McCarthy? These are questions that we set out to answer this week in a new political series where we discuss President Elect Joe Biden’s cabinet members and how they’re important to the environmental cause.
The idea of a climate czar, isn’t actually new. The position has existed before, but lay vacant for almost a decade. The goal of the job is to coordinate climate action across many federal agencies along with Congress. It is just the job we need to encourage some action to negate what President Trump did during his term, but it won’t be easy, especially if Republicans and Democrats are unable to find helpful, common ground.
Luckily, it appears this is not McCarthy’s first time fighting for sustainable legislation. According to the Washington Post, she ran the Environmental Protection Agency under Barack Obama. During her time there, she worked to restrict greenhouse emissions. After, she became the president of the Natural Resources Council, which has sued the Trump Administration on numerous occasions to overturn rollbacks on environmental protections and restrictions.
Her actions show she is committed to helping us fight climate change from the government. If she continues to do so, we’ll be in good hands for the next four years.