{"id":18627,"date":"2021-01-29T11:30:09","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T11:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grist.org\/?p=497859"},"modified":"2021-01-29T11:30:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T11:30:09","slug":"bidens-cabinet-picks-are-not-afraid-to-talk-about-climate-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/29\/bidens-cabinet-picks-are-not-afraid-to-talk-about-climate-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s cabinet picks are not afraid to talk about climate \u2014 so far"},"content":{"rendered":"
The team of people President Joe Biden tapped to head up his agencies have significant roles to play in delivering on his climate agenda. Biden\u2019s Cabinet — the folks who will lead the departments that make up the executive branch — will execute the president\u2019s executive orders<\/a> halting drilling on public lands, implementing new emissions control measures, conserving land, and launching a Civilian Climate Corps, among other things. But before they do that, Biden\u2019s nominees need to be confirmed by the Senate, which has been busy squabbling over the filibuster<\/a> and the forthcoming impeachment trial<\/a> of former President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n Even so, the upper chamber\u2019s committees have found the time to hold hearings over the past two weeks to examine Biden\u2019s candidates for a slate of departments. More hearings will take place in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n On the climate front, the Senate held hearings for treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen (former chair of the Federal Reserve), transportation secretary nominee Pete Buttigieg (the South Bend, Indiana mayor who ran for president in 2020), and energy secretary nominee Jennifer Granholm (former governor of Michigan). Some of these positions don\u2019t seem like they\u2019re directly related to executing Biden\u2019s climate agenda. But the president has promised a \u201cwhole of government<\/a>\u201d approach to dealing with the crisis, and these three players will be key to making that happen. Yellen has already been confirmed by the Senate. Buttigieg has advanced past the Commerce Committee to a full Senate vote, which means he will be confirmed imminently, and Granholm is likely to be confirmed soon as well.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the three nominees said about rising temperatures at their confirmation hearings and what that signals about how they\u2019ll approach climate policy in the future.<\/p>\n