Donald Trump’s pick for energy secretary says ‘there is no climate crisis’

President-elect Donald Trump’s prime to pb the Department of Energy is fossil substance enforcement Chris Wright — who has misleadingly claimed connected LinkedIn that “there is nary clime crisis, and we’re not successful the midst of an vigor modulation either.”

Nevertheless, Wright is simply a staunch evangelist for fossil fuels who consistently rejects mainstream clime science. While Wright besides has ties to the atomic vigor industry, cleanable vigor advocates accidental that with Trump’s furniture picks, the US is losing crushed successful the contention to deploy renewable vigor and combat clime change. Oil and state companies, meanwhile, are patting themselves connected the back.

“Picking idiosyncratic similar Chris Wright is simply a wide motion that Trump wants to crook the U.S. into a pariah petrostate,” said Jean Su, manager of the Center for Biological Diversity’s vigor justness program, successful an emailed statement.

Wright is the CEO of Liberty Energy, a large lipid and state work supplier that launched during America’s fracking roar much than a decennary ago. Around 10 percent of full US superior vigor accumulation comes from wells fracked by Liberty, according to the company.

In a video posted by the right-wing deliberation vessel Heritage Foundation past year, Wright refers to “irrationally restrictive policies against the accumulation of lipid and earthy gas” that “do thing to alteration the request for lipid and earthy gas,” helium claims. “Our concern contiguous is the astir profitable it’s ever been. As I say, I’m 1 of those radical needlessly enriched by [the] atrocious vigor argumentation situation we unrecorded successful today. I don’t observe that. In fact, I adamantly reason it.”

Trump campaigned connected a Republican level that says simply, “We volition DRILL, BABY, DRILL.” Wright volition “be a cardinal leader, driving innovation [and] cutting reddish tape,” Trump said connected Truth Social announcing the appointment, which inactive needs to beryllium confirmed by the Senate, implicit the weekend. He besides said Wright would articulation a caller “Council of National Energy” tasked with “focusing connected INNOVATION implicit longstanding, but wholly unnecessary, regulation.”

The fossil substance manufacture is inactive location basal for Wright, however. “Chris Wright has a peculiar transportation arsenic a chap MIT alum and vocal promoter of the lipid and earthy state industry,” Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance that is made up of lipid and state companies, said successful an emailed statement.

Wright’s income transportation for methane, marketed by the manufacture arsenic earthy gas, is typically that it’s an affordable root of energy. “My dedication to bettering quality lives remains steadfast, with a absorption connected making American vigor much affordable, reliable, and secure,” Wright said successful a post connected X.

But tumbling prices for renewable vigor infrastructure person made onshore upwind and star farms cheaper sources of energy than fossil fuels successful astir of the world. “If we crook our backmost connected the cheapest forms of caller vigor – similar star and upwind powerfulness – it volition marque vigor much costly for American consumers,” Environmental Defense Fund enforcement manager Amanda Leland said successful a statement. “Any nominee, including Chris Wright, who ignores the stakes successful this planetary cleanable vigor contention – oregon fails to admit the urgent situation of clime alteration – should interest each of us.”