Senior State Dept. climate official heads to DOE

A State Department official who helped lead international climate talks is moving to the Energy Department (DOE) to head that agency’s climate operations.

Jonathan Pershing will begin his new role as DOE deputy assistant secretary for climate change policy and technology on Tuesday, David Sandalow, DOE secretary for policy and international affairs, said in a Friday email to staff.

Pershing will oversee domestic climate and clean-energy initiatives for that office, Sandalow noted. He replaces Rick Duke, who left the agency in September.

At State Department, Pershing served as deputy special envoy for climate change under special envoy Todd Stern. He helped lead the U.S. envoy in United Nations global warming talks for the past four years.

Pershing defended U.S. and Obama administration efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions during a U.N. climate conference in November. 

“Those who don't follow what the U.S. is doing may not be informed of the scale and extent of the effort, but it's enormous,” he said, according to The Associated Press.

Reuters added that Pershing said extreme weather such as Hurricane Sandy and yearlong drought is “certainly changing the minds of Americans” who are skeptical about climate change.

Pershing announced his departure to his State Department colleagues in an email obtained Thursday by ClimateWire.

"I believe we have, collectively, made strides toward a cleaner world — and one a bit less likely to be catastrophically damaged by climate because of our efforts," Pershing said.

— This story was updated at 12:53 p.m.

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