American energy needed to ‘lift up’ those who want to expand economically worldwide

For years, the debate surrounding America’s energy future has been obscured by politics, lip service, and hyperbole. The fact is at the heart of the “energy issue” is the question of human prosperity. How can we ensure that human beings are given the best chance to achieve their goals, better their situation, and provide for their families?

Chris Wright isn’t just an advocate for responsible energy policy – he’s an advocate for humanity. He understands that energy is the foundation for any measurable advancements that lift-up the impoverished, feed the hungry, and shelter the homeless. Clean water, reliable food sources, and robust infrastructural improvements are only possible with energy policies that focus on expanding America’s load capacity and bringing down the price for consumers and businesses alike.

This is why President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Chris Wright as our next Secretary of Energy has gotten much attention. Headlines will attempt to summarize his life as a “fracking executive,” but his life’s work and governing philosophy expands far beyond such shallow analysis.

Far from an extremist or “climate denialist,” Chris Wright has openly engaged in the discussion of how we can lessen the impact humans have on the world around us. “Climate change is a global challenge,” Wright wrote last year in Liberty Energy’s 2024 Bettering Human Lives report. Alongside his role as CEO of Liberty Energy, Wright is also on the Board of Directors for Oklo, an American company that is revolutionizing the way we think of nuclear energy with their modular “Aurora Powerhouse” reactor. He also signed on to a 2023 declaration of energy executives that urged leaders to support the development of nuclear energy, in part, to “meaningfully de-carbonize its complex energy systems without derailing global economies.”

That all said, Wright has never run from fracking – hydraulic fracturing – and its benefits. Because of the adoption of that process at scale, natural gas has become the leading energy source in the U.S., leading to a 12% decline in emissions between 2005 and 2015, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration. That was reinforced by the Institute for Energy Research six years later when they found that the U.S. led the world in reduction of carbon dioxide emissions since 2005. Even the Progressive Policy Institute agreed in a study that China purchasing American natural gas (versus Russian) would reduce emissions by an average of 30%.

Unlike many in DC’s chatter class, Wright deals in facts. He supports an all-of-the-above energy policy that doesn’t require government bureaucrats to pick winners and losers. He supports responsible regulations that protect our land and water without stifling innovation and increasing utility costs for the rest of us.

Wright describes himself as a climate realist – somebody who understands the tradeoffs between energy and climate policy. For many Americans, it is a much-needed mindset for leading the Department of Energy. A husband, father, and avid outdoorsman (skiing, cycling, and climbing), he believes in leaving the next generation a reasonable, human-focused energy system that is focused on bringing the most amount of prosperity to the most amount of people.

Recent studies show that over 1 billion people on Earth are considered to be “energy poor.” That may seem inconceivable to Americans who are exposed to electrical lines, power outlets, EV charging stations, and streetlights on a daily basis, but for those billion human beings on the planet, that means an inability to grow beyond the means they were born into and achieve their potential. That’s where the continued expansion of American energy resources can continue to play a role. By unleashing American energy, we lift up those who need clean, reliable, and affordable fuel to expand economically.

For human prosperity, this U.S. Senate should promptly confirm Chris Wright as our country’s next Energy Secretary.

David Avella is GOPAC Chairman.