Secretary Moniz congratulates Jonathan Pershing on March 25, 2016, Pershing’s last day at the Energy Department. | Energy Department Photo.

We congratulate Jonathan for his appointment as Special Envoy for Climate Change at the Department of State. While I will miss Jonathan’s wise counsel and good humor, I look forward to continuing to work closely with Secretary Kerry and Jonathan as our Departments work towards domestic and international implementation of the Paris agreement through clean energy solutions.

Over Jonathan’s three years at the Department of Energy, he has played a key role in all of the Department’s climate policy efforts. He served as both Deputy Director of the Energy Policy and System Analysis office established in 2013 and as my Senior Advisor on Climate Change. His science background and analytical skills have been put to very good use in his consistently collegial fashion.

Jonathan was instrumental in helping the Department up our game in terms of rigorous analysis of America’s energy systems, including release of the first installment of the Administration wide Quadrennial Energy Review. He was part of the core team designing Mission Innovation, a commitment by 20 countries to double government funding for clean energy research and development. And he led the Department of Energy’s efforts to support the U.S. negotiating team prior to and at the COP21 climate negotiations in Paris.

I also thank Todd Stern for his remarkable service to our country over the last seven years on the ‘road to Paris.’ I can think of no one more qualified or well prepared to take on this job than Jonathan as we take the “road from Paris.”