Wright Picked to Lead Department of Energy

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President-elect Trump announced that he would nominate Chris Wright to lead the U.S. Department of Energy. Wright is an oil-industry executive who has denied the impacts of climate change and advocated for greater use of dirty fossil fuels around the globe.

Following is reaction from Jackie Wong, senior vice president for climate and energy at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):

"The Department of Energy has been at the forefront of researching and helping develop the transformative technologies our nation needs to meet our energy needs while addressing key challenges like climate change and the disposal of nuclear waste.

"Given the devastating impacts of climate-fueled disasters, the DOE's core mission of researching and promoting cleaner energy solutions is more important now than ever. Putting a champion of dirty fossil fuels in as the leader of the department would be a disastrous mistake.

"The Energy Department should be doing all it can to develop and expand the energy sources of the 21st century, not trying to promote the dirty fuels of the last century."

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).