John Podesta, President Barack Obama's adviser on climate change, is quickly nearing the end of his one-year commitment to the job and is moving to accomplish as much as he can before leaving on Dec. 31,
National Journal reports.
Not only will January see both houses of Congress fall into the unfriendly-to-the-administration hands of Republicans, Podesta also is expected to be called upon to help run Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.
Among the flurry of climate change actions Podesta helped bring to fruition in 2014 was the Environmental Protection Agency's new rules to cut carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who hails from coal-rich Kentucky, has vowed to
fight the new regulations when Republicans take over the Senate in January.
The new rules, Republicans argue, would not only hurt jobs in coal states, but also damage the American and global economies.
Podesta's other major achievement during his one-year stint was getting the United States and China to sign an accord on reducing greenhouse gases. Critics complained the deal requires immediate cuts by the United States while only making China pledge to make future cuts years down the road.
Podesta told PBS' Charlie Rose he is confident China will abide by the agreement.
"I think that China does not take these undertakings or commitments lightly," Podesta said. "It is hard to get them to make commitments, but once they make them, they are pretty good at keeping them."
Podesta may stay until Obama's State of the Union address, but environmentalists are keen on keeping him on because of his successes, National Journal says.
Environmentalist and Democratic strategist Glenn Hurowitz told the magazine, "You can divide the Obama administration's environmental policy-making into BP and AP: Before Podesta and After Podesta."
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