By admin 
WASHINGTON – Newly-elected US President Donald Trump on Saturday appointed fracking magnate and climate change skeptic Chris Wright as energy secretary, tasking him with “cutting red tape” that the new administration hopes will slow investments in fossil fuels stimulate.
“As Secretary of Energy, Chris will be a key leader driving innovation, cutting red tape and ushering in a new ‘Golden Age of American prosperity and global peace,’” Trump said in a statement.
Wright is the founder of Liberty Energy, which serves the energy companies that have dramatically increased U.S. fossil fuel production in recent years by extracting oil and gas from shale fields in a process known as “fracking.”
In a LinkedIn post, Wright denied there was a “climate crisis.”
“There is no climate crisis and we are not in the middle of an energy transition,” he said, adding that “the term carbon pollution is outrageous” because all life depends on carbon dioxide.
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“There is no such thing as clean energy or dirty energy; all energy sources have consequences for the world, both positive and negative,” he added.
Trump called him “one of the pioneers who helped launch America’s shale revolution that fueled American energy independence and transformed global energy markets and geopolitics.”
To drill
During his election campaign, Trump promised to boost the domestic fossil fuel industry to bring down energy prices that have fueled inflation for consumers.
He also vowed to tear up environmental regulations and the United States’ commitments to fight climate change under the historic 2015 Paris accords.
Wright’s nomination will be welcomed by the US fossil fuel industry.
He will formulate the policy together with North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who will oversee the entire sector under Trump as Secretary of the Interior.
Announcing Burgum’s appointment to head a new National Energy Council on Friday, Trump said the United States is “blessed with vast quantities of ‘liquid gold’ and other valuable minerals and resources right under our feet.”
“We will DRILL BABY DRILL, expanding ALL forms of energy production to grow our economy and create good-paying jobs,” he added.
Wright has repeatedly criticized outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden’s efforts to encourage the U.S. transition to a low-carbon energy model and has downplayed the importance of solar energy.
His views put him at particular odds with Trump’s top backer and informal adviser Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla, who founded the electric car company and invested heavily in solar energy out of fear of the effects of climate change.
Controversial choices
Trump began shaping his new administration this week with a series of relatively mainstream Republican picks, including conservative Florida senator and foreign policy hawk Marco Rubio as secretary of state.
Then came a quartet of nominations for leaders of sprawling federal departments in his new administration, who have little or no relevant experience — but a history of loyalty to the incoming president.
Among the most controversial were Attorney General Matt Gaetz, a former congressman who was once investigated for alleged sex trafficking, and Fox News host and National Guard veteran Pete Hegseth, who was nominated to lead the Pentagon.
Like Wright, they will need approval from the Republican-dominated Senate, where Trump has warned lawmakers not to stand in his way or even skip the oversight process altogether.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist, has been nominated as the new health secretary, while Tulsi Gabbard, who frequently repeated Kremlin talking points, was offered the job of director of national intelligence.
Trump has not yet appointed Treasury secretary to be charged with cutting taxes, or a director of the FBI.