Dive Brief:

• On Friday, Dan Utech was named to succeed Heather Zichal as President Barack Obama's new adviser on energy and climate issues. Utech was an adviser to former Energy Secretary Stephen Chu and worked for then-Sen. Hillary Clinton on cap-and-trade legislation in 2008.
• Utech most recently served as deputy to Zichal, who could not be persuaded to stay on in the administration as chairwoman of the Council on Environmental Quality, according to a Washington Post report. 

Dive Insight: 

Among Utech's challenges will be helping to implement the administration's plans to address climate change in the face of tireless opposition from many in Congress as well as the affected industries, such as electric utilities. Obama set a June 2014 deadline for the Environmental Protection Agency to propose rules to limit greenhouse gases from existing power plants. Also slated for next year is a decision on TransCanada Corp.'s desire to build the Keystone XL pipeline.