WASHINGTON DC – US Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Thursday laid out the Trump administration’s vision for a “commonsense” energy policy, framing American energy abundance as a key tool for both domestic prosperity and global peace.
His remarks took a particularly pointed turn when discussing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy, a dependency he vowed to end.
Washington’s energy gambit in Europe
Speaking directly to the crisis in Ukraine, Wright left no ambiguity about the US strategy: “Our goal is to deploy American energy exports to our allies around the world so they can buy energy from reliable friends that source them, as opposed to adversaries,” Secretary Wright told reporters during a virtual briefing organized by State Department’s European Regional Media Center.
The Secretary highlighted Europe’s historic reliance on Russia for nearly half of its imported natural gas and positioned the United States as the main solution.
“We’re driving to move that to zero,” he declared, stating that US energy exports have been the “biggest filler of that hole.”
He referenced a recent transatlantic trade deal where the EU committed to an ambitious $750 billion in US energy purchases.
To meet this target, Wright said the US would not only ramp up exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) but also increase its shipments of refined products like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, arguing that Russian oil continues to reach Europe via third countries like India and Türkiye.
Fossil fuels, not a problem?
The secretary’s comments also offered a stark contrast to the climate policies embraced by many European nations. Wright challenged the idea that hydrocarbons pose an existential threat, stating that the “net impact of hydrocarbon consumption” has been “massively larger in making safer, longer, healthier lives.”
He argued that despite trillions of dollars invested globally in renewables, wind and solar still account for less than 3 percent of global energy consumption.
He cited the UK as a cautionary tale, claiming its embrace of renewables has led to soaring electricity prices and the offshoring of its energy-intensive manufacturing.
Wright credited the US’s own significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions not to renewables, but to the “rapid rise of natural gas,” which he said has displaced coal.
He also cast doubt on the very idea of climate change as an “urgent threat,” pointing to a massive drop in deaths from extreme weather over the last century and suggesting that a “warmer, wetter world is more conducive to growing crops.”
New “American energy dominance”
While the administration is “all-in” on new energy sources like nuclear, geothermal, and fusion, Wright made it clear that the Trump administration’s agenda is to “unleash American energy to reshore manufacturing.”
He stated that a more vibrant economy and a lead in the AI race would require “meaningfully more energy production than we have today.”
He also criticized politicians who “can’t just change the energy system by shouting about it and passing subsidies,” noting that despite the previous administration’s efforts, the US still gets the same percentage of its energy from hydrocarbons as it did when President Joe Biden took office.
Wright’s message was one of ambition and self-reliance, with a clear focus on using American energy production as a strategic asset. “We want more energy in the world,” he concluded, and “we want it affordable, reliable, and secure.”