UK committed to moving away from coal-fired power plants: minister

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain remains committed to switching from coal-fired power plants to clean energy, a minister told parliament on Tuesday when asked whether the government was considering backtracking on a plan to close coal-burning stations by 2025. "The government is committed to the transition from coal to clean energy," Nick Hurd, a junior minister in the business department, said in response to a question on whether the government was reconsidering its position. In November 2015, the government agreed to hold a consultation setting out proposals to close by 2025 all coal-fired power stations which are "unabated" - plants not equipped to capture and store their carbon emissions - and restrict their usage from 2023. The findings of that consultation have not yet been published. (Reporting by William James and Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison)