Washington, D.C. – Yesterday President-elect Donald Trump announced Chris Wright, CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy and known climate change denier, to lead the Department of Energy. Wright is one of several wealthy donors from the oil and gas industry on the frontlines of the anti-ESG wing’s misinformation campaign. He has publicly claimed that “there is no climate crisis” and has misrepresented climate science in congressional hearings. Wright also sits on the Board of Directors of the Pacific Research Institute (PRI), an anti-climate science advocacy organization that has been a vehicle for Big Oil’s attacks against responsible investing in recent years.
In response to the nomination, Unlocking America’s Future Spokesperson Kyle Herrig said the following:
“The nomination of Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright to head the Department of Energy is a catastrophe for our environment, American businesses, consumers, and retirees. Wright’s extremist views and orchestration of disinformation campaigns around climate change should be enough to disqualify him for the role. But his history as a greedy oil industry executive and shadow figure of the anti-responsible investing movement must make his nomination a non-starter. Wright’s nomination threatens the checks and balances of our financial system, the health of Americans’ pension funds that thrive from clean energy investments, and America’s leadership on the global stage.”
In April 2024, Wright testified before Congress where he misled the public about the financial impact of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed climate risk disclosure rule, which would provide investors with transparency into companies’ greenhouse gas emissions. Prior to his testimony, Liberty Energy filed suit against the SEC challenging the agency’s proposed rule. Despite this, research shows it would only cost Liberty Energy $739,000 annually, compared to the company’s $556 million in profits and Wright’s $5.5 million compensation package in 2023.
