The National Security Council will break new ground with the appointment of John Kerry to a dedicated role tackling climate change, highlighting the international diplomacy focus on climate as a key priority for Joe Biden’s incoming administration.

The appointment of the former Obama-era secretary of state, who helped to orchestrate the 2015 Paris climate accord, as the special presidential envoy for climate, signals that the issue will rise to the top of the US policy agenda, even as the Biden administration could face an uphill battle to enact its environmental goals domestically.

“Having Kerry on the National Security Council puts climate at the very pinnacle of White House influence,” said Paul Bledsoe, an adviser at the Progressive Policy Institute, and former White House climate official under President Bill Clinton.