Wright to speak at conservative event in London

The organization announced on Thursday that Chris Wright, Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Energy Department will be speaking to a conservative think-tank in London, next month.

Wright has advocated expanding fracking operations in previous meetings.

Wright, whose confirmation by the Senate is expected on Friday, will not be attending the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Conference in person, according to a spokesperson for the department. It wasn't immediately clear if he would be addressing the conference from Feb. 17-19 virtually.

Wright, CEO of the oilfield services firm Liberty Energy, spoke last at an ARC in 2023, when he said that fracking should be allowed to take place in England. The drilling method is currently banned due to environmental concerns.

Wright then said: "The case for transformation in the United Kingdom is compelling," Wright said.

Wright is convinced that climate change exists, but is only a distant danger. During his confirmation, Wright stood by his comments that the concern over wildfires was hyped up to promote government policies to combat climate change.

The speakers are expected to address a variety of topics, including the role of family in maintaining social cohesiveness, free enterprise and good government, energy, natural resources, and the environment.

ARC stated that other speakers scheduled to speak included U.S. Republican legislators and Bjorn Lombborg, who accepts that climate change can be damaging but questions arguments that fighting it is worth the cost. (Reporting and editing by Lisa Shumaker; Timothy Gardner)

(source: Reuters)