Search
Close this search box.

Biden Administration International Affairs Personnel Tracker

Ali Zaidi

Deputy National Climate Advisor

A Pakistani-American lawyer and climate policy analyst, Ali Zaidi served for eight years under the Obama Administration in numerous capacities, including as the White House Domestic Policy Council’s deputy director for energy policy, a policy aide to the Secretary of Energy, and as associate director for natural resources, energy, and science at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). After the inauguration of President Donald Trump, Zaidi joined the law firm Morrison & Foerster as a senior advisor. In 2020, he was appointed as Deputy Secretary for Energy and Environment and Chairman of Climate Policy and Finance for the state of New York.

Zaidi was previously a Precourt Energy Scholar and adjunct professor at Stanford University, where he co-founded the Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy initiative, has served on multiple national boards related to environmental change and holds an A.B. from Harvard University and a J.D. from Georgetown University.

This position does not require Senate confirmation. President Biden appointed Zaidi to the position on December 16, 2020.

On China

While a practiced speaker, Ali Zaidi appears to have minimal public opinions on China or the U.S.-China relationship at this time. In a recent group phone call on April 1, 2021, Zaidi did emphasize the inevitable intersection between climate policy and economic development and how the U.S. is in a race with other countries in “important industries of the future.”

We’ve got all of that integrated into what amounts to very good economic policy, economic policy that’s good for creating good-paying union jobs, economic policy that propels us forward on environmental justice and economic policy, that helps us square shoulders and face the challenge of the climate crisis head-on…Every year that we delay, we’re talking about other countries racing ahead to seize the competitive advantage in these incredibly important industries of the future…So, the cost of inaction is mounting already.

Although part of his work in the Obama Administration was dedicated to reducing American dependence on foreign oil, it can be inferred that Zaidi has a strong appreciation for multilateral cooperation and the role of international forums in resolving climate issues. In addition to being a first-generation immigrant, Zaidi helped negotiate the 2016 Paris Agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which has currently brought together more than 190 nations as signatories. In an April 8, 2021 interview, Zaidi commented: “On day one, the President got America back into the Paris Agreement, and that was really important for our credibility overseas, our engagement with global partners.”

More specifically, according to a fellow Stanford professor in late 2020, Zaidi has “an appreciation for how the technology might fit in, both politically, economically, and culturally, [to solving climate problems] and what some of the interdependencies could be.”

Notable Speeches, Testimony & Commentary

Both during and following his eight years in the Obama Administration, Ali Zaidi has regularly written on and spoken at events and on podcast programs regarding the intersections between decarbonization, climate change, job security, and domestic policy development. For instance, he wrote the white paper “Climate Action is a Matter of Fiscal Responsibility,” (November 15, 2016) at the end of the Obama Administration. Still, his discussions and commentaries are more often about domestic matters than international affairs. Overall, he has released very little regarding or referencing China since taking his post in the Biden administration.

Media Commentary & Public Perceptions

Zaidi’s broad professional expertise already compiled so early in his career has contributed to his overall warm reception, with early reports suspecting he would be serving as the National Climate Advisor rather than in the deputy position. 

A top choice to become President-elect Joe Biden’s domestic climate adviser is a former Republican and an immigrant from Pakistan, and is currently driving New York’s effort to be a national leader on renewable energy.

Page Last Updated: January 19, 2022

*None of the personnel in this tracker are associated with the Institute for China-America Studies. All images used on this page are sourced from the official Biden-Harris transition website buildbackbetter.gov or the public domain.*