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At a Denver fossil fuel summit in 2021, Chris Wright, Trump’s Energy Secretary nominee, declared "there is no climate crisis" while defending the industry's role in addressing environmental concerns.
Chris Walker reports for The Lever.
In short:
- At a 2021 Colorado Oil and Gas Association Energy Summit, fossil fuel executives rebranded themselves as leaders in reducing emissions, despite their significant contributions to climate change.
- Chris Wright, then CEO of Liberty Oilfield Services and Trump’s pick for the Energy Department, denied the existence of a climate crisis while promoting fossil fuels as vital for improving global living conditions.
- Panels explored industry strategies like carbon capture, but skeptics questioned whether these efforts justify continued fossil fuel reliance rather than transitioning to renewable energy.
Key quote:
“There. Is. No. Climate. Crisis.”
— Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Oilfield Services in 2021 industry summit.
Why this matters:
Wright—a CEO whose bread and butter comes from oilfield services—flat-out dismissed the climate crisis and championed fossil fuels as the unsung heroes of modern living, painting oil and gas as the key to lifting people out of poverty and saving the world, ignoring the role these fuels have in the warming of the planet –and the unfolding ecological collapse caused by this temperature change. As the U.S. Energy Secretary, Wright will have immense influence over the country's decisions on the matter.
