March 17, 2014

OBAMA CLIMATE ADVISER HEATHER ZICHAL TO STEP DOWN

By ExchangeMonitor

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
10/11/13

President Barack Obama’s top energy and climate adviser Heather Zichal will step down within the coming weeks, the White House confirmed this week. Zichal plans to move to the private sector, according to Reuters, which initially reported her planned departure. “Heather will be missed here at the White House, but our work on this important issue will go on. We will continue to make important progress in reducing carbon pollution to help keep our air and water clean and protect our kids, helping communities prepare for a changing climate and leading international efforts to address climate change,” White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said in a statement. The White House has yet to name a replacement for Zichal, although initial media reports indicated that her deputy, Dan Utech, is the likely frontrunner for the position. The Washington Post reported that Zichal had turned down the chance to work as chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Zichal previously served as a top aide to former Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and has worked for Obama since his 2008 presidential campaign, first as a deputy to then-director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner. She then took over the top job, which was renamed the Deputy Assistant for Energy and Climate Change, when Browner left in 2011. Zichal was more under-the-radar that Browner, which allowed her to play a critical role in formulating the President’s climate action plan without the same level of scrutiny the Clinton Administration veteran Browner received from Congressional Republicans. Zichal’s departure comes at a critical time for the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and other federal agencies as they move forward with implementing the climate plan in the coming months amid fierce opposition from Congressional Republicans and high-emitting industries.

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