The Senate on Monday confirmed fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary, putting him in position to promote President Trump's efforts to achieve US "energy dominance" in the global market. Wright, CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, has been one of the industry's loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He says more fossil fuel production can lift people out of poverty around the globe and has promised to help Trump "unleash energy security and prosperity," the AP reports. The Senate vote was 59-38.
The centerpiece of Trump's energy policy is "drill, baby, drill," and he has pledged to dismantle what he calls Democrats' "green new scam" in favor of boosting production of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal that emit planet-warming greenhouse gases. "President Trump shares my passion for energy," Wright said at his confirmation hearing last month, promising to be "an unabashed steward for all sources of affordable, reliable, and secure American energy." That includes oil and natural gas, coal, nuclear power and hydropower, along with wind and solar power and geothermal energy, Wright said.
Colorado's two Democratic senators supported their home-state nominee. "While we don't always agree, we will work together because none of us have four years to wait to act," Sen. John Hickenlooper said. While acknowledging that climate change is real, Wright said at his hearing that he believes "there isn't dirty energy or clean energy." Rather, he said, there are different sources of energy with different tradeoffs. Wright, 60, has been chairman and CEO of Liberty Energy since 2011 and has no prior experience in government. In 1992, he founded Pinnacle Technologies, which helped launch commercial shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
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