President-elect Donald Trump introduced Saturday he has chosen Chris Wright, an oil and gasoline trade government, to steer the Division of Vitality in his upcoming administration.
Wright, the founder and CEO of Liberty Vitality, a Denver-based oilfield service firm, is a staunch defender of fracking and fossil gasoline use who has by no means served in authorities.
Final 12 months, Wright took to social media to speak about some “deceptive and destructive” phrases and phrases individuals use when discussing vitality and local weather, together with “climate crisis,” “carbon pollution” and “clean [and] dirty energy.”
“There is no climate crisis and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition either,” he stated in a video posted on his LinkedIn web page. “Humans and all complex life on earth is simply impossible without carbon dioxide. Hence the term carbon pollution is outrageous.”
If confirmed by the Senate, the Republican donor and fundraiser may take fast motion to restart the division’s issuance of approvals for pure gasoline exports, which was paused by the Biden administration earlier this 12 months.
“As Secretary of Energy, Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new ‘Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace,’” Trump stated in an announcement shared on his Fact Social platform on Saturday.
Along with main the Vitality Division Wright will serve alongside Inside Secretary nominee Doug Burgum on the brand new Nationwide Vitality Council — which “will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,” Trump wrote.
Saturday’s announcement was instantly criticized by the nation’s largest grassroots environmental group.
“Not since Donald Trump’s most recent cabinet pick has a nominee ever been so utterly unqualified for the job,” Ben Jealous, government director of the Sierra Membership, stated in an announcement.
“Chris Wright is a climate denier who has profited off of polluting our communities and endangering our health and future,” he added, vowing to do “all we can do” to cease Wright and his “pro-polluter agenda.”
