President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Energy Department believes fossil fuels are key to ending global poverty, which he says is a bigger problem than the 'distant' threat of climate change, according to a report he wrote as CEO of oilfield services company Liberty Energy.
In a company report released in February titled “Bettering Human Lives,” Chris Wright argues that the energy transition has not started and that climate change, while a challenge, is not the greatest threat weighing on humanity.
Poverty is a larger threat that can be alleviated through access to hydrocarbons, said Mr. Wright, who created a foundation aimed at expanding propane stoves in developing countries.
The mainstream science is at odds with many views of America's future top energy official, who will likely be zealous to implement Mr. Trump's agenda, maximizing domestic oil and gas production, which has already reached a record level, and withdrawing from international cooperation to avoid catastrophic climate change.
“Vibration will be better for the oil and gas industry,” Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines, said in an interview, adding that the industry has felt attacked by President Joe Biden's climate policies.
Mr. Bazilian called Mr. Wright “a perfect example of this situation.” He did not hesitate to say that the oil and gas industry has brought security, power and development to the United States, which is true. The other thing that’s true is that global emissions aren’t going down.”
Scientists say emissions from burning fossil fuels are a leading cause of climate change, which is happening faster than expected.
Mr Wright opposes carbon dioxide being considered a pollutant, saying carbon is essential for life. Peter Reich, a climate scientist at the University of Michigan, called Mr. Wright's logic “horribly absurd.” “People, their pets and their crops also need water,” Reich said. “That doesn’t mean that if your house is flooded up to the second story or your soybean field is underwater, water can’t be a problem.
A spokesperson for the Trump transition team said: “As a leading innovator and entrepreneur, Chris Wright is a bold advocate for President Trump's promise to lower the price of energy and guarantee energy independence.” Wright's spokesperson at Liberty did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Wright wrote that “the rich world has moved beyond excessive optimism about the scale and scalability of a narrow slice of alternative energy and, unfortunately, has rushed headlong into outright obstruction.” hydrocarbon infrastructure and energy independence.
hydrocarbon production.
The report says polar bear numbers are increasing, without any evidence. Charlotte Lindqvist, an expert at the University at Buffalo, says polar bear populations are not increasing and the species is losing its sea ice habitats.
Mr. Wright supports certain alternatives to oil, such as small modular nuclear power, which is not yet commercialized, and geothermal energy, while criticizing solar and wind power, which he considers insufficient.
Bazilian said that view was outdated, noting that the cost of carbon-free solar and wind power has fallen dramatically and that these sources can also solve the problem of energy poverty.
Mr. Wright also wrote that deaths from extreme weather have declined over the past century thanks to increased wealth and access to energy.
Drew Shindell, a climate scientist at Duke University, said Mr. Wright's argument follows a common tactic of “stating things that are correct but irrelevant or at best tangent to the actual questions at hand.”
“This would be a great rebuttal to the argument that to mitigate climate change we should phase out fossil fuels and, instead, sit in the dark and reverse modernity. No one is arguing for this idea, however,” Mr. Shindell said.
Michael Mann, a climatologist at the University of Pennsylvania, recalled that more than 200 people died as a result of Hurricane Helene, which occurred in October and which scientists believe was made worse by climate change .
Liberty has published the report since 2021 as an environmental, social and governance (ESG) publication. Liberty says its mission to provide affordable energy sources is consistent with ESG investing principles.
