Biden will choose Jennifer Granholm and Gina McCarthy for Energy, Climate Roles

McCarthy, who declined to comment, will work closely with former Secretary of State John Kerry, Mr. Biden’s special envoy for climate change. His position does not require confirmation in the Senate.

The main advisers of Mr. Biden have also expressed greater interest in choosing Rep. Deb Haaland (D., NM) to head the Department of the Interior. But House Democrats have backed down, telling transition officials they can’t afford to lose another lawmaker to the administration because of the party’s meager majority, people familiar with the talks said. .

The president-elect is expected to formally announce key positions on energy and the environment this weekend, but one person familiar with the internal deliberations said Mr. Biden was still deliberating on his EPA administrator.

Ms. Granholm, who approved Mr. Biden as president in March, served as Democratic governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011 and as state attorney general for the previous four years. One of her signature policies as governor was a mandate for the state to increase the proportion of its energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind.

If confirmed as energy secretary, Ms. Granholm would oversee U.S. scientific research and the country’s nuclear arsenal and could help encourage the development of low-carbon energy sources through the distribution of federal loans. He would probably also work closely with other senior officials, including the head of the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House climate coordinator, to follow up on Biden’s campaign commitment to achieving clean emissions in the United States by 2050. .

Ms Granholm did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for Mr Biden’s transition team declined to comment.

As governor, Ms. Granholm pushed for a renewable portfolio standard that required that in 2015 10% of the state’s energy come from renewable sources, a percentage that was subsequently increased. During his tenure, he also worked closely with the Obama administration to help the auto industry, which faced collapse after the economic downturn. He has attributed to Mr Biden his key role in strengthening General Motors Co.

and Chrysler during this period.

Mrs. Granholm and Mr. Biden have a close relationship dating back years. He helped Mr Biden prepare for his debate on the vice presidency during the 2008 campaign.

Other candidates Biden has considered for the job of energy secretary were Arun Majumdar, a professor at Stanford University and a former vice president of energy at Alphabet. Inc

Google and former Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall.

Majumdar could be appointed to another senior position in the Department of Energy, possibly deputy secretary, some of those familiar with the matter said. During the Obama administration, he became the first leader of the department’s Advanced Research Projects – Energy Agency (ARPA-E), which he worked on from 2009 to 2012. The agency funds research projects. innovation in the initial phase, based on the research arm of the Department of Defense. which is known as a catalyst for progress.

Biden has promised to put a new emphasis on this type of work in government, including the creation of a new agency called “ARPA-C,” to tackle climate change. Biden has described climate change as an urgent crisis and has proposed the most aggressive climate agenda of any of the top presidential candidates, analysts say, which is likely to make the Department of Energy one of its big ambitions.

It has pledged to spend $ 2 trillion to help the country eliminate greenhouse gas emissions that heat the planet and grow domestic labor. Mr. Biden wants the money to help drive the progress and innovation of American scientists and companies on the grid, utility-scale batteries, electrified transportation, carbon capture technology and advanced nuclear power, all of which receives support from the Department of Energy.

It would be a stark contrast to the Trump administration, which stressed the department’s role in promoting cleaner energy growth in the U.S. Trump has questioned the science of climate change and has worked to promote the consumption of fossil fuels to boost U.S. oil and coal industries. Major initiatives by his Department of Energy included a rescue attempt for coal power, support to boost U.S. natural gas exports, and negotiations with other major oil producers.

Mrs. McCarthy is the last Obama-era veteran to be appointed to a senior position and brings considerable influence to the White House. As the EPA leader during the Obama administration, he helped create and enforce the country’s first major regulations on greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

In his new role in the White House, he will oversee climate action across the government. Biden’s climate advisors have pushed the president-elect to address climate change across all executive agencies, beyond the EPA and other energy regulators. McCarthy will coordinate this work in areas that may include financial regulations, transportation financing, and other infrastructure policies, according to a person with knowledge of transition team planning.

McCarthy headed the EPA office that dealt with air pollution from 2009 and assumed the position of EPA administrator during Mr. Obama’s second term.

It has a long history in environmental policy. Prior to joining the EPA, Ms. McCarthy served as chief environmental watchdog under two former Republican governors: Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in 2003 and later Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell.

Earlier this year, he took over the leadership of the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the country’s leading environmental groups and legal engineers behind several lawsuits against the Trump administration’s efforts to ease environmental and climate regulations. .

Write to Andrew Restuccia to [email protected] and Timothy Puko to [email protected]