White House Names Morton New Energy, Climate Adviser
The White House named a new adviser to President Barack Obama on climate and energy at the National Security Council, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
The adviser, John Morton, was previously the chief operating officer at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
He replaces Paul Bodnar, who helped push for cooperation between the United States and China on climate and for a global agreement at climate talks in Paris last year.
Morton, who began his career at the World Bank, takes the job after the Supreme Court this month put a hold on Obama's Clean Power Plan to cut emissions from power plants, a major part of the president's strategy to fight climate change.
The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia four days later may have opened a path for the rule's survival . But the administration's plan could face other legal hurdles from Republicans and fossil fuel interests during Obama's last year in office.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner)
