Trump nominates climate change sceptic Chris Wright as energy secretary

Chris Wright, a fracking magnate, has said ‘there is nary clime crisis’ and champions fossil substance production.

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Chris Wright, a salient fracking magnate and outspoken clime alteration sceptic, to service arsenic vigor caput successful his upcoming administration.

“As Secretary of Energy, Chris volition beryllium a cardinal leader, driving innovation, cutting reddish tape, and ushering successful a caller ‘Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace,’” Trump said successful a connection connected Saturday.

Wright, the CEO of Liberty Energy, has agelong championed fossil substance accumulation arsenic the cornerstone of economical growth, aligning intimately with Trump’s imaginativeness of achieving US “energy dominance”.

“Energy is the lifeblood that makes everything successful beingness possible,” Wright posted connected X aft the announcement. “I americium looking guardant to getting to work.”

A clime sceptic astatine the helm

Wright has publically denied determination is simply a climate crisis. In a past LinkedIn post, helium dismissed the thought of a planetary vigor transition, asserting that “there is nary clime crisis” and decrying the word “carbon pollution” arsenic misleading.

“There is nary specified happening arsenic cleanable vigor oregon soiled energy, each vigor sources person impacts connected the satellite some affirmative and negative,” Wright wrote.

His views are emblematic of Trump’s broader scepticism towards biology regulations and clime commitments, including the Paris Agreement, which Trump has pledged to wantonness erstwhile again.

During his predetermination campaign, Trump – who calls clime alteration a hoax – promised to boost the home fossil substance manufacture successful bid to bring down vigor prices that person driven inflation.

Wright volition devise argumentation alongside North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, caput of the recently created National Energy Council.

“We volition DRILL BABY DRILL, grow ALL forms of Energy accumulation to turn our Economy, and make good-paying jobs,” Trump said Friday arsenic helium announced Burgum’s appointment.

Wright has repeatedly criticised efforts by outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden to promote the US’s modulation to a low-carbon vigor exemplary and has downplayed the value of solar.

Among his contiguous priorities could beryllium lifting the yearlong intermission connected earthy state export permits implemented nether President Biden.

His views enactment him notably astatine likelihood with Trump’s cardinal backer and informal advisor Elon Musk, the brag of Tesla, who started the electrical car institution and invested heavy successful solar.

‘Disastrous mistake’

Harold Hamm, a longtime Trump state and enforcement president of shale elephantine Continental Resources, lauded Wright’s expertise, stating that his enactment would beryllium important successful expanding US fossil substance production. Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, echoed this sentiment, saying Wright’s manufacture acquisition “gives him an important perspective” and volition assistance bolster vigor exports to US allies.

But biology advocates person decried the choice. Jackie Wong, elder vice president for clime and vigor astatine the Natural Resources Defense Council, described Wright arsenic “a champion of soiled fossil fuels” and called his information “a disastrous mistake”.

“The Energy Department should beryllium doing each it tin to make and grow the vigor sources of the 21st century, not trying to beforehand the soiled fuels of the past century,” Wong said.

The Department of Energy besides oversees atomic security, biology cleanup of atomic sites, and groundbreaking technological probe astatine its 17 nationalist laboratories. Critics interest that Wright’s assignment could overshadow these captious missions.

Controversial figures

Wright’s information is portion of a broader signifier successful Trump’s Cabinet selections, which diagnostic a premix of seasoned conservatives and controversial figures. Other high-profile picks see Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic, for wellness secretary, and erstwhile Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, known for her pro-Kremlin rhetoric, for manager of nationalist intelligence.

Pete Hegseth, a pro-Israel Fox News big with constricted defence experience, was tapped to pb the Pentagon, portion erstwhile Congressman Matt Gaetz, erstwhile investigated for alleged enactment trafficking, was picked for the relation of lawyer general.

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