Washington (August 29, 2017) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee and co-Chair of the Senate Climate Action Task Force, released the following statement in response to reports that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson intends to eliminate or downgrade Special Envoy positions at the State Department, including the Special Envoy for Climate Change.

 

"The Special Envoy for Climate Change was established to ensure American leadership on climate action and our clean energy future.  The elimination of this critical position is just one more example of the Trump administration ceding American climate and clean energy leadership to countries like China and Germany. Secretary Tillerson must retain this position so that the United States keeps a seat at the table."


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