REUTERS – U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Thursday gave the International Energy Agency a one-year deadline to withdraw from its net-zero, climate-focused agenda or risk losing the United States as a member.
In 2015, the United States and about 200 other countries signed the Paris Agreement, an international commitment to curb global warming by reducing the burning of oil, gas and coal, with the goal of achieving “net-zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
“There is a collective mentality that has invested for a decade in the destructive fantasy of net zero by 2050, and the US will use all the pressure it can to ultimately get the IEA to move away from this agenda over the next year or so,” Wright said.
Wright added that he did not want to risk China increasing its influence over the agency if the United States left.
“There’s always a risk[of China gaining dominance in the IEA]so our goal is not to leave,” he said.
Wright added that many countries have informally agreed with the US stance of moving away from net-zero targets and continuing to increase production and consumption of fossil fuels such as gas and oil.
“We certainly see a lot of countries talking, at least informally, about wanting to get competitive again, wanting to rebuild their industries, wanting to have strong militaries,” Wright said.
However, some politicians, mainly in Europe, are unlikely to backtrack on their stance on environmental policies in public, he added.
“Many countries in Europe are betting their political platforms and, frankly, their desire to engage elsewhere in the world on the net-zero agenda. Only a cold, hard reality, an uprising of people and a vote for a party can change things,” Wright said.
The European Union’s independent advisers said on Tuesday that the region is unprepared for worsening climate change and must urgently step up investment to protect people and infrastructure.
According to the United Nations, even if countries meet their latest national climate commitments, global warming could still occur by 2.3 to 2.5 degrees Celsius this century.
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