U.S. Energy Secretary Warns IEA: Prioritize Energy Security or Face U.S. Exit

Chris Wright urged the International Energy Agency to prioritize energy security over advocacy for the deployment of renewables, and warned that the United States could withdraw from the body if it does not change course. The remarks, delivered at a conference in Paris, accused the agency of acting like a “climate advocacy organization” and dismissed the value of a global net-zero scenario as unrealistic.

The intervention, which Politico reported as signalling growing tension between Washington and the IEA, frames a broader disagreement between the agency’s modelling of low-carbon transitions and the current U.S. administration’s pro-fossil-fuel orientation. Politico covered Wright’s comments and the administration’s stance.

Chris Wright

Wright argued that when international data and analysis bodies devote resources to what he characterised as “leftist fantasies,” they risk undermining their core mission of delivering objective analysis for energy security and market stability. He warned that continued emphasis on net-zero scenarios could prompt a reevaluation of U.S. membership in the IEA.

Those remarks echo positions voiced by other senior U.S. officials. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Howard Lutnick criticised European solar and wind deployment and questioned the desirability of pursuing net-zero policies, urging instead greater reliance on oil, gas and even coal. World Economic Forum meetings in Davos gathered these high-profile exchanges.

Observers note that the rhetoric follows a wider shift in U.S. climate and energy policy since the current administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord earlier this year, a move that has intensified transatlantic debate over the pace and direction of the energy transition. Donald Trump has publicly criticised Europe’s renewables push and framed the U.S. approach as a deliberate return to fossil-fuel development.

The clash poses a practical challenge for the IEA, whose forward-looking scenarios and data are widely used by governments and markets. How the agency responds — whether by adjusting emphasis, defending its analytical frameworks, or engaging in political dialogue with member states — will shape its role in an era of sharply divergent energy strategies.

January 23, 2026

by AEA in News

Davos: China reaffirms green agenda as US slams EU’s net-zero goal

At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, China reiterated its commitment to green development, in contrast to the United States, whose secretary of commerce said America should rely on oil and gas instead of pursuing a green transition and criticized the European Union’s (EU) net-zero target. US President Donald Trump, for his part, described the energy transition as a “scam” that caused an energy collapse in Europe.

Speaking at the WEF Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng emphasized China’s resolve to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, adding that the country’s upcoming five-year plan would keep the focus on green growth fueled by solar, batteries, and electric vehicles (EVs).

China’s Vice Premier urged other countries to help combat emissions

He also urged other nations and foreign companies to collaborate with China on creating “a green and prosperous future.”

“We invite enterprises from all over the world to embrace the opportunities from the green and low-carbon transition, and work closely with China in such areas as green infrastructure, green energy, green minerals, and green finance,” He said in a speech at Davos.

In contrast, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticized the EU’s solar and wind development, as well as its net-zero goal, adding that the green transition is not something the US should pursue. Lutnick also said that the world should focus on coal as an energy source rather than renewables, according to reports.

In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed executive orders reversing much of the previous administration’s climate policy and withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement once again.

US Commerce Secretary claims seeking net zero without battery production would make the EU subservient to China

“Why are you going to do solar and wind? Why would Europe agree to be net zero in 2030 when they don’t make a battery? So, if they go 2030, they are deciding to be subservient to China, who makes the batteries,” Lutnick said.

“Why would the US, which has oil and natural gas, try to convert to all-electricity? China does not have oil and natural gas – electricity and electric cars make perfect sense to them,” Lutnick said at a WEF panel.

According to news agencies, Lutnick’s harsh criticism of Europe at a VIP dinner on Tuesday made European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde walk out of the event.

Trump slams “the green new scam” and claims China sells wind turbines to others, but does not build its own wind farms

For his part, Trump also criticized the EU’s transition to renewables, claiming that the US had avoided “the catastrophic energy collapse which befell every European nation that pursued the green new scam.” He also described the green transition as “perhaps the greatest hoax in history.”

In his speech in Davos, the US president claimed that wind farms “lose money” and that China only sells wind turbines without building any wind farms itself.

“They sell them to the stupid people that buy them. They don’t use them themselves,” Trump said, adding that China has only built a “couple of wind farms” in order to “show people what they could look like.”

According to available data, China has the largest wind power capacity in the world, at around 600 GW.

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