Hardtalk

Justin Rowlatt speaks to US Energy Secretary Chris Wright about his belief that the threat from climate change is exaggerated. It is a view shared by the American President, Donald Trump, and one that has seen subsidies to the renewable energy industry, worth billions of dollars, cut by the US administration. Secretary Wright is highly critical of the transition to sustainable power, describing it as unsuccessful and costly, and instead believes the solution to emissions lies in nuclear fusion. He has drawn the wrath of the international scientific community with his controversial challenge to climate orthodoxy, including his claims that there have been no increases in extreme weather events across the globe. Chris Wright was nominated by President Trump as his Energy Secretary in November 2024 after a career in the energy industry and is an outspoken opponent of global efforts to combat the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. The US President has described climate change “as the greatest con job ever pe