Pakistani-American Ali Zaidi has been picked to serve as deputy White House Climate Coordinator, President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team announced.
Zaidi is currently working as New York’s deputy secretary for energy and environment and has been a longtime adviser to Biden on the climate issues.
The 33-year-old expert is part of the team tasked with formulating a unified national response to the climate challenge. He is the highest-ranking Pakistani-American to become part of the Biden administration due to start functioning on January 20, 2021.
Zaidi, work under Gina McCarthy, who ran the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under former President Barack Obama.
McCarthy will spearhead the team to coordinate the new administration’s domestic climate agenda.
“This brilliant, tested, trailblazing team will be ready on day one to confront the existential threat of climate change with a unified national response rooted in science and equity. They share my belief that we have no time to waste to confront the climate crisis, protect our air and drinking water, and deliver justice to communities that have long shouldered the burdens of environmental harms,” Biden said in a statement.
We need a whole-of-government approach to take on the climate crisis — in a way that spurs jobs and advances justice. I was floored when President-elect @JoeBiden called. I still am — profoundly humbled, deeply honored, and so ready to get to work!
— Ali A. Zaidi (@ali_a_zaidi) December 18, 2020
Zaid has been described by the Biden transition team as “a leading climate expert and longtime advisor to the president-elect.”
He was part of the team that helped draft and implement the Obama-Biden Administration’s Climate Action Plan and negotiate the Paris Climate Agreement.
Zaidi has earned praise for his insightful experience on climate change issues. He grew up in the Rust Belt outside Erie, Pennsylvania, and pursued higher studies at Harvard and Georgetown Universities.
“Zaidi brings the cross-sector and multi-disciplinary experience needed to deliver a whole-of-government response to the climate crisis,” the transition team noted.
