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energy
'A Disastrous Mistake': Trump Taps Fracking CEO Chris Wright for Energy Secretary
"This is going to be the oiliest administration since George W. Bush," lamented one environmental campaigner.
Nov 16, 2024
In a move that alarmed green groups, Republican President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday tapped Chris Wright—the CEO of a fracking company who denies the climate emergency—as his energy secretary.
Wright, who leads the Denver-based oil services company Liberty Energy, is a Republican donor whose nomination to head the Department of Energy is backed by powerful fossil fuel boosters including oil and gas tycoon and Trump adviser Harold Hamm.
"Chris has been a leading technologist and entrepreneur in Energy. He has worked in Nuclear, Solar, Geothermal, and Oil and Gas," Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. "Most significantly, Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fueled American Energy Independence, and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics."
"Not surprising but still appalling that Trump's pick for Energy Secretary is a Big Oil CEO."
Trump—who has promised to increase fossil fuel production beyond the record-setting levels of the Biden administration—also said Wright would serve on a new Council of National Energy led by Doug Burgum, his pick to run the Interior Department.
In a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Wright said that he is "honored and grateful for the opportunity" to be nominated by Trump.
"My dedication to bettering human lives remains steadfast, with a focus on making American energy more affordable, reliable, and secure," he added. "Energy is the lifeblood that makes everything in life possible. Energy matters. I am looking forward to getting to work."
Wright calls himself "a lifelong environmentalist" and said last year that "climate change is a real problem." However, he also said in 2023 that "there is no such thing as clean energy or dirty energy" and that "there is no climate crisis and we're not in the midst of an energy transition either."
While fossil fuel proponents cheered Wright's nomination, climate and environmental defenders voiced alarm over the pick.
"Not surprising but still appalling that Trump's pick for Energy Secretary is a Big Oil CEO," League of Conservation Voters senior vice president for government affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld wrote on X.
Natural Resources Defense Council senior vice president for climate and energy Jackie Wong blasted Wright as "a champion of fossil fuels" whose nomination was "a disastrous mistake."
"The Energy Department should be doing all it can to develop and expand the energy sources of the 21st century, not trying to promote the dirty fuels of the last century," Wong said in a statement reported by The Associated Press. "Given the devastating impacts of climate-fueled disasters, DOE's core mission of researching and promoting cleaner energy solutions is more important now than ever."
Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity, lamented that "this is going to be the oiliest administration since George W. Bush."
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Advocates Urge Biden to 'Secure His Climate Legacy' by Acting on LNG Before Trump Takes Office
"The clock is ticking—for the Biden administration and our planet," one campaigner asserted.
Nov 07, 2024
With just 75 days left before climate-denying Republican President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House to pursue his "Drill, Baby, Drill" energy agenda, clean energy advocates in the United States on Wednesday urged President Joe Biden to take "bold action" to move toward a fossil fuel phaseout and a sustainable future for the world's people and the planet they all share.
"Although millions of Americans voted to reject Trump's dangerous agenda, we face another four years of a Trump presidency," said Oil Change International executive director Elizabeth Bast. "Trump has promised to double down on oil and gas production, accelerating climate catastrophe while continuing to enable violence against vulnerable communities—from environmental defenders to Palestinians facing genocide. His policies will compound environmental racism and human rights abuses, with Black, Brown, Indigenous, and frontline communities in the U.S. and around the world bearing the heaviest burden."
"Movements for change have won important victories under the toughest conditions," Bast added. "It would take more than a Trump presidency to change that. Every pipeline, every fossil fuel export terminal, and every fracking well we can stop matters."
To that end, Oil Change International U.S. program manager Collin Rees asserted that "in his final months in office, President Biden has the opportunity to secure his climate legacy by taking bold action to phase out fossil fuels and protect our climate and communities."
"We are calling on Biden to immediately end fossil fuel expansion, make permanent his January pause on new [liquefied natural gas] exports, shut down the disastrous Dakota Access Pipeline, and fulfill the U.S.' commitment to stop financing international fossil fuel projects," he continued.
Looking forward to this month's United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29)—which is set to begin next week in Baku, the capital of petrostate Azerbaijan—Rees said that "Biden must seize his final moment at COP29 in Azerbaijan this November to cement real climate action before Trump takes office."
"After pledging to move away from fossil fuels at COP28, Biden needs to deliver by championing a bold new $1 trillion annual climate finance package and putting forth a plan for a fast, fair, forever, funded, fossil fuel phaseout," he argued. "This funding will transform last year's fossil fuel promises into genuine support for adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage—but only if Biden acts now."
"The clock is ticking—for the Biden administration and our planet," Rees stressed. "What Biden does now will determine whether he'll be remembered as the leader who did his utmost to limit the Trump administration's damage and keep the world from hurtling towards climate chaos."
Jamie Henn of Fossil Free Media echoed the demand, calling on Biden to "make a mountain of progress for Trump to try to undo."
Bloombergreported Thursday that the Biden administration is "racing" to complete a study examining the climate, economic, and national security implications of increased LNG exports. While Trump has vowed to end Biden's LNG export pause on his first day in office, any adverse findings in the study could be used to launch legal challenges to the new administration's project approvals.
Despite campaign promises to take bold climate action—including by banning new fossil fuel drilling on public lands—Biden oversaw the approval of more new permits for drilling on public land during his first two years in office than Trump did in 2017 and 2018.
During Biden's tenure, the United States became the
world's leading LNG exporter. The president has overseen what climate defenders have called a "staggering" LNG expansion, including Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass 2 export terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and more than a dozen other projects that, if all completed, would make U.S. exported LNG emissions higher than the European Union's combined greenhouse gas footprint.
The Biden administration has also held fossil fuel lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and has approved the highly controversial Willow project and Mountain Valley Pipelinedespite warnings from climate scientists that continued fossil fuel extraction has no place on a pathway to limiting planetary heating and meeting the goals of the Paris climate agreement.
On a positive note, the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by Biden contains unprecedented investments in the clean energy sector, including solar, wind, and battery storage.
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Russia Weaponizes Energy to Wage Hybrid Warfare on Ukraine
Russia aims not only to destroy Ukraine's physical infrastructure but also to erode confidence in its government, undermine international support, and exploit the world's dependence on fossil fuels.
Oct 17, 2024
In 2022, Russian propagandists spread fear across Europe, playing on the "fear of the cold" by pushing narratives like "Europe will freeze without Russian gas." Now, in 2024, we are still witnessing the devastating effects of this hybrid warfare, with energy playing a central role in Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
Hybrid warfare is more than just conventional military aggression. It involves a strategic blend of economic, informational, and cyber tactics designed to disrupt societies and weaken the Kremlin's targets. Russia's hybrid warfare against Ukraine, particularly in the energy sector, illustrates this perfectly. By combining direct military assaults with cyberattacks, energy blockades, and unprecedented widespread disinformation campaigns, Russia aims not only to destroy Ukraine's physical infrastructure but also to erode confidence in its government, undermine international support, and exploit the world's dependence on fossil fuels.
Russia has weaponized energy exports as a critical element in its war on Ukraine. Today, Ukraine's energy infrastructure is under relentless attack, with over 50% damaged, often leaving millions of Ukrainians without reliable power. While missiles and drones visibly ravage Ukrainian cities, another, less visible battle rages in cyberspace and through the media, targeting the energy sector.
Renewable energy is the path to a safer, more just world in the battle against Russian aggression and climate change
In 2024 alone, the Kremlin-backed hacker group Sandworm launched numerous cyberattacks on Ukrainian energy facilities. These assaults, timed to coincide with Russian missile strikes, are part of a broader campaign to cripple Ukraine's ability to generate and distribute energy. A report from Ukraine's computer emergency response team (CERT-UA) confirmed that Sandworm infected energy, water, and heating suppliers in at least 10 regions of Ukraine this year. Cyberattacks like these are designed to paralyze Ukraine's recovery, create chaos, and force the government to divert critical resources away from the front lines.
In parallel, Russia's disinformation campaigns have relentlessly targeted Ukraine's energy independence. False narratives about new power projects, like the construction of additional reactors at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant (KhNPP), are intended to spread fear and uncertainty. Russian propagandists claim that the project will lead to a "nuclear disaster, comparable to Chernobyl" and that Ukraine is incapable of safely managing its nuclear energy sector. These lies are designed to erode public trust and cast doubt on the country's capacity to modernize its energy infrastructure.
Disinformation spreads through pro-Kremlin Telegram channels and foreign media outlets, suggesting that Ukraine is unprepared for the responsibilities of managing its energy sector. The goal is to sow doubt among Ukraine's international allies, reduce foreign investment in critical energy projects, and delay Ukraine's shift toward renewable energy.
Such disinformation campaigns do not stop at Ukraine's door. Russia has also employed similar tactics in Western nations, influencing public discourse and policy on energy. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice uncovered a large-scale Russian disinformation campaign designed to interfere in the U.S. presidential race. These operations use unsuspecting PR firms and social media channels to spread narratives beneficial to Russia, further demonstrating the global reach of Russia's hybrid warfare strategy.
The consequences of these campaigns are far-reaching. Disinformation can:
- Erode public trust: False narratives about energy projects create skepticism among citizens, making it harder for governments to implement necessary reforms or infrastructure projects.
- Deter international support: Potential investors and foreign governments may be discouraged from supporting Ukraine's energy sector if they believe that projects are mismanaged or dangerous.
- Complicate decision-making: Policymakers may feel pressure to alter or abandon important energy projects due to public sentiment influenced by disinformation. This can delay Ukraine's energy independence and leave it vulnerable to further attacks.
- Increase vulnerability: As confusion and distrust grow, Ukraine becomes more susceptible to external manipulation. Russia can exploit this environment to disrupt energy supply chains or infrastructure further. As public morale weakens and trust in the government diminishes, the country may become more susceptible to external pressures and manipulation, potentially leading to energy crises during critical periods.
To counter Russia's hybrid warfare, Ukraine and its allies must not only defend against missile strikes and cyberattacks but also combat the disinformation campaigns that erode public trust and international support. The best response to Russia's weaponization of energy is to weaken its dominance in the sector altogether.
Ukraine's shift toward cheaper renewable energy offers a clear path to energy security and independence. Renewables—wind, solar, and hydropower—are not only crucial for Ukraine's recovery and economic security but also harder to target, making them more resilient to future threats. Ukraine's shift to renewables is pivotal for its security, global energy stability, and the fight against climate change.
Ukraine's future—and indeed the future of global security—depends on breaking free from the grip of fossil fuels that fuel both war and disinformation. Russia's energy dominance has not only bankrolled its military but has also been a tool of manipulation, distorting public perception and sowing distrust. Ukraine can secure its independence by accelerating the transition to renewable energy while setting an example for the world. Global support for Ukraine's energy revolution is not just a step toward rebuilding the country—it is a decisive blow against the disinformation networks and economic strangleholds that empower petro-dictatorships.
Renewable energy is the path to a safer, more just world in the battle against Russian aggression and climate change. The time to act is now.
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