Washington (Platts)--21Dec2012/607 pm EST/2307 GMT
Environmental groups on Friday welcomed President Barack Obama's decision to nominate Senator John Kerry, Democrat-Massachusetts, as secretary of state, citing Kerry's support for action on global climate change. "No member of Congress has devoted more energy over the past two decades to strengthening the international effort against climate change," said Eileen Claussen, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. Claussen, a former assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, said Kerry "will bring vital expertise and knowledge on the issue of climate change as we endeavor to work toward a meaningful, balanced international agreement in 2015." If confirmed by the Senate, he will take over State with a contentious decision on the Keystone XL pipeline looming and will replace current Secretary Hillary Clinton, who has made climate change a prominent issue at State. In a speech at Georgetown University in October, Clinton discussed the growing importance of energy in foreign policy. "Energy cuts across the entirety of US foreign policy," Clinton said. In a statement Friday, the League of Conservation Voters called Kerry "a true leader on climate change and other environmental issues [who] has spent his career advocating for policies that are good for our planet and our national security." Frank Maisano, an energy specialist with Bracewell & Giuliani, however, said Kerry's role in climate change policy will likely be limited by the Obama administration, which has strayed little from the policies of former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. "I don't think Senator Kerry is going to be as influential as environmentalists think," Maisano said. In a Senate floor speech in August, Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said climate change was "as dangerous as any of the sort of real crises that we talk about," including Iran and Syria.--Brian Scheid, brian_scheid@platts.com --Edited by Jeff Barber, jeff_barber@platts.com