Statement
STATEMENT:
Nomination of Oil CEO Chris Wright To Lead Energy Department Is Catastrophe for
American Businesses, Retirees
November 17, 2024
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.
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