Houston Republic

President Joe Biden's pick for U.S. Secretary of Labor has a long history of prioritizing climate change, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said.

Turner will be taking over the Climate Mayors' chair from Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who was nominated for the Labor Secretary position about a week before Biden's inauguration.

Turner praised Walsh's climate change record.

"I congratulate Mayor Walsh on his appointment and thank him for his work to prioritize climate change," Turner said in a Climate Mayors announcement issued on Jan. 28. "It is an honor to succeed him as chair of Climate Mayors."

In his own comments in the Climate Mayors' announcement, Walsh said that Turner is a fitting replacement to chair the peer-to-peer network of 474 U.S. mayors committed to fighting climate change.

"Mayors see first-hand how climate change is already impacting the health and wellbeing of people in our communities," Walsh said the announcement. "Mayor Turner has long demonstrated a strong commitment to climate action, and I know that he will work to keep this at the heart of our COVID-19 recovery efforts. I congratulate him on becoming Chair of the Climate Mayors, and I look forward to seeing him advance this work forward on a national and international scale."

The announcement referred to Turner's own fight against climate change that led to Houston's commitment to purchasing 100% renewable energy, making it the nation's largest municipal user of renewable energy.

Turner also chairs the Resilient Cities Network board of directors and is first vice president of the African American Mayors Association's board of directors.

"As we look ahead to this new year under the leadership of Mayor Turner, the Climate Mayors network expresses its deepest gratitude to Mayor Walsh for his ongoing commitment to addressing the climate emergency," Executive Director James Ritchotte said. "We're honored to have Mayor Turner serve as the new chair, knowing that he will expand the reach and impact of Climate Mayors, work closely with the new Administration committed to ambitious climate action, and drive an agenda focused on an economic recovery grounded in equity and sustainability."