Trump nominates oilfield services company chief as energy secretary

President-elect Donald Trump today nominated Chris Wright, head of a company providing oil production services, as energy secretary. According to Reuters, Wright, a prominent Republican donor who denies the climate crisis, is likely to share Trump's opposition to international cooperation on tackling climate change.

Wright is the founder and CEO of Liberty Energy, a Denver-based company specializing in fracking, a controversial method of extracting oil and gas from shale deposits. Wright is expected to support Trump's plan to massively increase oil and natural gas production and seek ways to boost electricity generation amid growing demand.

According to Reuters, Wright is also likely to share Trump's opposition to global cooperation on climate protection. He has previously called climate activists alarmists and compared Democrats' efforts to fight global warming to Soviet-style communism.

„There is no climate crisis and we are not in the midst of an energy transition,“ Wright said in a video he posted on his LinkedIn profile last year.

Wright has no prior political experience and believes that increased oil production will lift people out of poverty.

The Department of Energy handles US energy diplomacy, manages the strategic petroleum reserve, which Trump has said he wants to replenish, and operates grant and loan programs to develop energy technologies. The department is also responsible for nuclear safety. It coordinates the nuclear weapons and reactor production programs, nuclear waste management, and energy research programs. If confirmed by the Senate, Wright will replace Jennifer Granholm, an advocate for electric vehicles and renewable energy.