An array of environmental groups are applauding President Obama's nomination today of Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) to be the next secretary of State.

Environmentalists see Kerry as an ally who will make climate change a top priority and will side with them as the State Department prepares to recommend a course of action to Obama on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

"Sen. Kerry has a long history of supporting policies to help the environment," said Eileen Claussen, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. "No member of Congress has devoted more energy over the past two decades to strengthening the international effort against climate change."

But climate and the pipeline went unmentioned during Obama's brief White House announcement this afternoon that he was nominating Kerry to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton at Foggy Bottom. In fact, Kerry did not speak at all, and the president took no questions.

Obama said he was tapping Kerry for the depth and breadth of his experience, noting Kerry's military service in Vietnam, his 28 years in the Senate -- the last four as Foreign Relations chairman -- and the fact that his father was a career foreign service officer.

"In a sense, John's entire life has prepared him for this role," Obama said.

While numerous foreign policy challenges will confront the next secretary of State, the Keystone XL pipeline -- which would carry heavy oil sands crude from Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries -- represents a pressing concern. The State Department is expected to issue an environmental report on the project in the coming weeks, which will inform Obama's decision on whether the pipeline should be built in its entirety.

Over the last several months, Kerry has stated his intention to study the project closely in his role as Foreign Relations chairman, though he has not expressly taken a position on it. In a vote that was largely along party lines, he opposed a Senate measure in March designed to overturn Obama's initial rejection of the pipeline (ClimateWire, March 9).

In an interview with Reuters last week, Russ Girling, CEO of TransCanada, the company seeking to build the pipeline, expressed confidence that the State Department -- and ultimately Obama -- would greenlight the project, regardless of who is serving as secretary of State.

"I think anybody in that position will look at those facts objectively and come to the conclusion that the national interest of the United States is best served by the approval of the Keystone pipeline and stringent oversight, obviously, on pipeline safety, which they do in the United States today," Girling said.

But some environmental groups are making clear that they see Kerry's appointment as a sign the pipeline will be rejected.

"It goes without saying that as secretary, the first major challenge of the senator's leadership at the State Department will be his involvement in the decision to reject TransCanada's request to construct the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline," Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth U.S., said in a statement today. "Given Sen. Kerry's knowledge and commitment to fighting climate change, it is inconceivable that he would do anything other than reject the pipeline permit given that tar sands will otherwise become a 'carbon timebomb' guaranteed to bring about even greater destruction wrought by climate change."

Larry Schweiger, CEO and president of the National Wildlife Federation, indicated that although environmentalists will be happy to have an ally like Kerry at the State Department, the responsibility for a range of action on environmental issues ultimately rests with Obama.

"President Obama has promised to make climate change a top priority for his second term, and Sen. Kerry is a great addition to his Cabinet to help get the job done," Schweiger said.

While Kerry is not as personally close to Obama as U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who was thought to be the president's first choice to replace Clinton before removing herself from consideration amid Republican criticism, Obama said at the announcement today that he and Kerry bonded this year while Kerry portrayed Mitt Romney during preparations for the presidential candidate debates. And the president noted that the two have a history that goes beyond their Senate service together.

"Of course," Obama said, "I also have to say thanks because John invited a young Illinois state senator to address the Democratic National Convention in Boston" in 2004 -- an event that helped propel Obama to national prominence.

Assuming Kerry is confirmed, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) is expected to become chairman of the Foreign Relations panel. A two-step process to fill Kerry's Senate seat will also commence (E&E Daily, Dec. 21).