Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Energy rejects linking climate change and wildfires

il executive Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Energy Department, has argued that climate change has not fueled more frequent and severe wildfires — a claim at odds with the scientific consensus.

In a 2021 appearance on the PetroNerds podcast, Wright criticized mainstream media outlets for drawing a connection between wildfires and warming. Wildfires are “a major thing in the news now,” he said. “‘It’s climate change. It’s climate change.’ … The short answer: It is not.”

Wright, head of the fracking company Liberty Energy, has also disputed this connection in more recent LinkedIn posts, according to a review of his comments conducted by the environmental group Evergreen Action and shared with The Washington Post.

In the summer of 2023, as smoke from Canadian wildfires engulfed the East Coast, Wright wrote on LinkedIn that “the hype over wildfires is just hype to justify” harmful climate policies. He linked to a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Bjorn Lomborg, a Danish political scientist and author who contends that experts have overstated the negative impacts of climate change.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) slammed Wright’s comment about “hype” in a tense exchange during the confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“The climate crisis and its deadly effects is very real to my neighbors and my constituents,” Padilla said. “It’s pretty disappointing to come across some social media posts of yours. … Do you still believe that wildfires are just hype?”

Wright responded that he was watching the wildfires in the Los Angeles area “with great sorrow and fear.” After the Democrat pressed him further, he added, “I stand by my past comment.

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