Obama climate change adviser is leaving

David Jackson | USA TODAY

President Obama is losing his top adviser on energy and climate change issues.

Heather Zichal plans to step down in the next few weeks after five years in the administration.

A replacement for Zichal, the deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change, has not been named.

From Reuters:

"Zichal, 37, has advised Obama since his 2008 presidential campaign and helped shape the administration's policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions blamed for contributing to global warming.

"Zichal was the architect of the president's plan, announced in June, to cut carbon emissions from U.S. power plants, reviving his climate agenda after a planned "cap and trade" system was thwarted by Congress during his first term."