Energy News
OIL AND GAS
US energy chief says IEA must 'drop' focus on climate change

US energy chief says IEA must 'drop' focus on climate change

By Laurent THOMET
Paris, France (AFP) Feb 18, 2026
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright urged the International Energy Agency on Wednesday to abandon its work on climate change and focus instead on its founding mission.

Wright threatened last year to pull the United States out of the IEA -- which was founded to coordinate responses to major disruptions of supplies after the 1973 oil crisis -- unless it reformed the way it operates.

The IEA was created "to focus on energy security", Wright said on Wednesday at a ministerial meeting of the agency in Paris.

"That mission is beyond critical and I'm here to plead to all the members (of the IEA) that we need to keep the focus of the IEA on this absolutely life-changing, world-changing mission of energy security," the former fracking magnate said.

He said he wanted to get support from "all the nations in this noble organisation to work with us, to push the IEA to drop the climate. That's political stuff".

Speaking earlier, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol insisted that the Paris-based agency was "data-driven".

"We are a nonpolitical organisation," he added.

The IEA produces monthly reports on oil demand and supply as well as annual world energy outlooks that include data on the growth of solar and wind energy, among other analyses.

Wright praised Birol for reinserting a scenario that looked at the growth of oil and gas demand -- which had been dropped from the reports in 2020 -- in last November's annual outlook.

In an interview with AFP on Tuesday, Wright said the IEA has "made some first steps" to reform but still has "a long way to go".

But the US energy chief also pressed on with his criticism, telling reporters before the start of Wednesday's meetings: "The IEA has been infected with sort of a climate cult that's about energy subtraction."

- 'Age of electricity unstoppable' -

President Donald Trump, who has called human-driven global warming a hoax, has pulled the United States out of the United Nations' bedrock climate treaty and, last week, dismantled the legal basis for US climate rules.

Wright has used his time in Paris to challenge the consensus on climate science.

"This belief that climate change is urgent, it's causing catastrophic damage today, and we have to drop everything and focus everything on that: I can tell you nothing, nothing in the climate data supports that," he said.

The European Union's climate monitor, however, says the last three years have been the hottest globally on record, driven by rising greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global warming.

Experts warn that rising global temperatures are bringing hotter summers, more frequent flooding, stronger storms and increasingly devastating wildfires and droughts.

In a sign that not all nations agree with Wright, British energy secretary Ed Miliband announced that the UK would contribute a further 12 million pounds ($16 million) to the IEA's Clean Energy Transitions Programme.

"The age of electricity is unstoppable," Miliband said.

For many countries, he added, "clean energy is the most secure and affordable way to meet this rising demand over the long term."

He praised the IEA and Birol, saying: "You treat all members equally and fairly."

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
OIL AND GAS
Iran, Russia to conduct joint drills in the Sea of Oman
Tehran (AFP) Feb 18, 2026
Iran and Russia will conduct naval manoeuvres in the Sea of Oman on Thursday, following the latest round of talks between Tehran and Washington in Geneva, Iranian media reported. On Monday, the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military, also launched exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a challenge to US naval forces deployed in the region. "The joint naval exercise of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia will take place tomorrow (Thursday) in the Sea of Oman and i ... read more

OIL AND GAS
Ancient guano drove Chincha coastal power

Neem seed biochar turns waste into thermal energy storage medium

Salt solvent unlocks lignin for next generation biofuel plants

Pilot plant in Mannheim delivers tailored climate friendly fuel blends

OIL AND GAS
Golden bridge tunnel junction design boosts all perovskite tandem solar cell efficiency

Study maps path to cleaner terawatt scale solar manufacturing

Next generation solar manufacturing pathway could avoid massive CO2 output

Hydrogen bond design advances solar water oxidation efficiency

OIL AND GAS
China added record wind and solar power in 2025, data shows

UK nets record offshore wind supply in renewables push

Trump gets wrong country, wrong bird in windmill rant

OIL AND GAS
Environmental groups sue Trump administration over scrapped climate rule

'Hard to survive': Kyiv's elderly shiver after Russian attacks on power and heat

Zelensky seeks more air defence as Russia plunges Kyiv into cold

US to repeal the basis for its climate rules: What to know

OIL AND GAS
US labs map liquid metal path to future fusion power plants

Deep learning model tracks EV battery health with high precision

Simulations reveal how plasma flow steers fusion reactor exhaust

UCSB scientists bottle the sun with liquid battery

OIL AND GAS
Low crystallinity iron minerals show promise for chromium cleanup and carbon storage

One of Lima's top beaches to close Sunday over pollution

Indonesia capital faces 'filthy' trash crisis

China has slashed air pollution, but the 'war' isn't over

OIL AND GAS
US energy chief says IEA must 'drop' focus on climate change

Iran, Russia to conduct joint drills in the Sea of Oman

US forces board ship in Indian Ocean that fled Caribbean blockade: Pentagon

US renews threat to leave IEA

OIL AND GAS
Mars' 'Young' Volcanoes Were More Complex Than Scientists Once Thought

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4788-4797: Welcome Back from Conjunction

NASA Study: Non-biologic Processes Don't Fully Explain Mars Organics

Martian toxin found to toughen microbe built bricks

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2026 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.