US Treasury climate boss: retiring coal plants ‘absolutely critical’ By Reuters – Investing.com

US Treasury climate boss: retiring coal plants ‘absolutely critical’ By Reuters – Investing.com

By David Lawder and Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury's top climate official on Thursday said programs to accelerate the closure of coal-fired power plants are an "absolutely critical part" of fighting climate change but carry some risks.

In an interview with Reuters, Treasury Climate Counselor John Morton endorsed a scheme being developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and private investors to buy up and retire coal plants early as a more difficult but necessary companion to "sexier" efforts to boost direct investments in clean energy projects and stop the financing of high carbon-emitting energy sources.