'There Is No Climate Crisis' Says Fracking CEO Chris Wright, Trump's Pick to Head Department of Energy

By: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes. Ecowatch.

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Chris Wright, an executive of the oil and gas industry, as his pick to head the United States Department of Energy (DOE).

Wright – chief executive of hydraulic fracturing company Liberty Energy – has been described as a “staunch defender of fossil fuel use” who claims “there is no climate crisis,” reported Reuters.

Wright is expected to back Trump’s agenda of maximizing oil and gas production while boosting electricity generation.

“There is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition, either,” said Wright last year in a video post on his LinkedIn profile.

Wright, who has no political experience, has compared efforts to curb global heating by Democrats to communism in the former Soviet Union.

The fracking CEO has also referred to net zero as a “sinister goal,” The Telegraph reported.

In an unconventional move, Wright consumed fracking fluid on camera in 2019 to show that it wasn’t dangerous.

A self-described “tech nerd,” Wright has written about the necessity of producing more fossil fuels to help people get out of poverty, reported Reuters.

“The world runs on oil and gas, and we need that,” Wright told CNBC in an interview last year, saying the proposal to transition away from fossil fuels in a single decade was an “absurd time frame,” as CNN reported.

“Standing in the way of today’s energy system before we’ve built a new energy system, there’s just no upside in that,” Wright said. “I don’t think you’ll see meaningful change in our hydrocarbon system in the next three decades.”

The International Energy Agency warned in 2021 that the world should not approve any new fossil fuel developments if it wants to avoid the most disastrous impacts of climate change.

The DOE administers the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, handles energy diplomacy and runs loan and grant programs for the advancement of energy technologies.

The energy secretary also oversees the country’s nuclear weapons complex, as well as 17 national labs.

If the Senate confirms Wright as the next U.S. Secretary of Energy, he will take over the position currently held by Jennifer Granholm, who supports solar, wind and nuclear energy; geothermal power; and electric vehicles (EVs).

Oil production in the U.S. reached the highest level ever produced by any country under the Biden administration. It is unclear how much the Trump administration, including Wright, would be able to enhance that.

Earlier this year in a keynote speech, Wright addressed oil and gas industry members, saying, “there’s no such thing as renewable energy,” reported The Telegraph.

“Net zero 2050: zero chance of this happening, but it’s actually a sinister goal because we spend an insane amount of money pretending we’re going to actually achieve this,” Wright said.