John Kerry is stepping down as U.S. climate envoy

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry will step down from his role, he told NBC News, vacating his position in the Biden administration to continue working on the issue in other ways.

“I think given this is an election year and Congress is frozen, I’m stepping down, but I’m not leaving the issue — I will work on it from other vantage points,” Kerry said.

A former secretary of state in the Obama administration, Kerry is leaving Saturday for Davos, Switzerland, where the World Economic Forum is meeting next week.

Kerry also told NBC News that he will do whatever he can to help re-elect President Joe Biden in 2024 by campaigning on what Biden has accomplished on the climate issue.

Axios first reported Kerry’s plans to step down from his post.

Kerry, a former senator from Massachusetts, was the Democratic nominee for president in 2004, losing the race against then-President George W. Bush.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com