John Podesta's Climate Policy Recommendations for a Biden Presidency

John Podesta’s Climate Policy Recommendations for a Biden Presidency

On this week’s Political Climate, we speak to veteran Democrat John Podesta about why he’s focused on climate change this election and what he thinks Joe Biden should do to tackle the crisis if elected.

Julia Pyper July 23, 2020

Julia Pyper

Senior Editor
Greentech Media

Julia Pyper is a Senior Editor at Greentech Media covering the energy transition. She is also the host and producer of the Political Climate podcast. She previously reported for E&E Publishing, and has covered clean energy and climate change issues across the U.S. and abroad, including in India, Haiti, Israel and the Maldives. She holds degrees from McGill and Columbia Universities. Find her on Twitter @JMPyper.

Few people have more experience working in modern Democratic politics than John Podesta. From Senate staffer to White House chief of staff, progressive think tank founder to presidential environmental policy counselor, campaign manager to climate action advocate — Podesta has seen a lot.

In this exclusive, in-depth interview, Political Climate gets the veteran Democrat’s perspective on the state of climate politics amid the pandemic and intensifying run-up to the 2020 election. We hear how he would advise Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden to address climate change if elected, including actions a new Biden administration could take within its first 100 days.

We also discuss why Podesta has beef with Facebook, what he thinks about ending the Senate filibuster, and his thoughts on President Trump’s campaign strategy. Plus, Podesta shares his preferred pick for Joe Biden’s running mate.

John Podesta previously served as White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. He is the founder of the progressive think tank Center for American Progress and served as counselor to President Barack Obama, in whose administration he focused on climate and energy policy. Podesta chaired Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president in 2016. He is currently a member of Climate Power 2020, a campaign created to change the politics of climate.