Chris Wright: Trump’s pick for energy secretary spells disaster for the fight against climate change
Donald Trump’s appointment of Chris Wright – campaign donor and fossil fuel boss – as energy secretary has gone down with climate types as you’d expect: like a lead balloon.
“Disastrous” is how some have put it.
The pioneer of the fracking industry and CEO of Liberty Energy has previously said there is no climate crisis, nor an energy transition.
Try telling that to China, America’s number one rival. It is steaming ahead in manufacturing for the energy markets of tomorrow, from solar panels to electric vehicles.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump wants to send the United States in the opposite direction.
Mr Trump has tasked Mr Wright, if approved by the Senate, with cutting red tape and putting the US on “the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE”.
But it’s not clear how much more hydrocarbons the pair can get flowing.
The US is already the largest oil and gas producer in the world, reaching record levels under Democrat Joe Biden.
It remains the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China.
Even so, President Biden did try to chart a cleaner path for the United States.
He paused new licences for gas exports, and brought in landmark legislation (the Inflation Reduction Act) to stimulate green industries like electric vehicles and renewables. Just this week at the COP29 climate summit his team announced new fines for gas leaks from the domestic fossil fuel industry.
All of which Mr Wright and Mr Trump are expected to try to un-do.
A key worry is that if the wealthy, polluting America walks away from climate action when Mr Trump takes office, it provides cover for other countries to do the same, or to at least carry on with business as usual.
Countries like Azerbaijan, for example, the small caucus nation thrown under the spotlight by its hosting of COP29 climate talks in capital Baku.
Blessed with such abundant fossil fuels that gas literally seeps out the ground in some places, it is a late starter on the switch to clean energy.
Azerbaijan relies on oil and gas for 60% of state revenues and 90% of its exports – riches its authoritarian president Ilham Aliyev this week described as a “gift from God”.
How can this small economy, far less diversified, be persuaded to ditch its main source of income if somewhere like America is not leading by example?
This dilemma is felt by many developing countries.
Mr Wright has also written that more fossil fuel energy is needed around the world to lift people out of poverty.
It’s true energy access transforms lives.
And sadly it’s also the case that for many countries, wind and solar projects are currently more expensive upfront than fossil fuel equivalents – though cheaper in the long run. Borrowing money is also more expensive for poor countries than for rich countries, while enormous subsidies still flow to the fossil fuel industry.
This is why COP29 is trying to set up a new fund to support clean energy and other climate measures in developing countries.
As well as this, Experts at the highest levels – including President Macron and Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley – are trying to redesign the global financial system to make clean power make economic sense in the Global South.
If they fail, then on that final point, Chris Wright may be proved right.