A top climate official leaves the White House

By Sara Schonhardt | 09/05/2024 04:24 PM EDT

Sarah Ladislaw has been replaced as a climate adviser on the National Security Council by a climate finance expert.

Sarah Ladislaw

Sarah Ladislaw. Francis Chung/POLITICO (White House); Wilson Center (Ladislaw)

White House climate official Sarah Ladislaw has left her position as special assistant to President Joe Biden and senior director for climate and energy on the National Security Council, where she has worked since January 2023.

She returned this week to her former organization, RMI, as managing director for the U.S. program, a role she held before joining the government, according to her profile on the company’s website.

“Sarah’s hope was always to return to the non-profit sector, and we are happy she is back at RMI after serving for over a year and a half in a senior role in the White House,” Adam Beitman, an RMI spokesperson, told POLITICO’s E&E News in an email.

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Ladislaw brought years of experience to her post at the NSC, where her work focused on making the Biden administration’s climate law and investments in clean energy resonate globally — a task that often meant navigating tensions over trade and economic competition.

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