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White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy denies that she is stepping down

Washington, United StatesWritten By: Vyomica BerryUpdated: Apr 15, 2022, 06:58 PM IST
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National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy speaks at a briefing on climate policy in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC Photograph:(AFP)

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A report published in the New York Times stated that McCarthy had expressed frustration regarding the slow pace of climate progress

White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy on Friday (April 15) denied that she is stepping down from her position.

''Reports that I have resigned from my position as President Biden's National Climate Advisor are simply inaccurate,'' she said on Twitter.

''We’ve made great progress these past 14 months, but we have much more work to do, and I remain excited about the opportunities ahead,'' she added.

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“Gina and her entire team continue to be laser-focused on delivering on President Biden’s clean energy agenda,” said White House spokesman Vedant Patel.

A report published in the New York Times stated that McCarthy had expressed frustration regarding the slow pace of climate progress.

In December, Politico had conducted an opinion poll on climate change, in which 80 per cent of Americans said the Biden administration is not taking enough initiatives to tackle the problem.

In response, McCarthy said “We understand people’s frustration. Would we all like to be running faster and faster? Yes, we would.”

This had triggered speculation that the 67-year-old was unhappy with the way the Biden administration was tackling the issue.

According to McCarthy, "We must redouble our efforts to cut the greenhouse gasses that cause climate change while, at the same time, help our coastal communities become more resilient in the face of rising seas."

“I think we will have a bill that will move this fall,” she told the New York Times. 

McCarthy currently leads inter-agency efforts to coordinate domestic climate change policy. She is the domestic counterpart of Biden's special international envoy on climate change, John Kerry.

She was previously the Environmental Protection Agency administrator during the administration of former US President Barack Obama.

Biden chose her as the national climate adviser after he promised solid action against climate change during the US election in 2020.

As the head of the Natural Resources Defence Council, she sued former US President Donald Trump's administration over 100 times for countermanding Obama's policies.

(With inputs from agencies)