While the world seeks strategies for the energy transition, quantifies carbon emissions, and persists in its search for innovative technologies that benefit the planet, the United States is once again making waves.

It has done it at the Cambridge Energy Research Associates annual conference (CERAWeek), considered the most important energy conference worldwide, which this time took place in Houston, Texas, March 10-14.

There, before leaders from the energy, environment, and climate sectors who addressed critical challenges and shared transformative ideas, Trump's Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, spoke out in favor of natural gas and against renewable energy.

"The Trump administration will end the Biden administration's irrational and quasi-religious climate change policies that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens. Natural gas accounts for 43% of US electricity production. There’s simply no physical way that wind, solar, and batteries can replace the countless uses of natural gas," Wright asserted.

He also spoke out against offshore wind projects, declaring them a waste of money and "very unpopular" with the public. He lashed out at solar and batteries, emphasizing their inability to replace natural gas. To top things up he added: "I've been called a climate change denier or a climate change skeptic. That's a mistake. "I'm a climate realist," he declared.

If it weren't for the fact that in this administration has become a regular event to lash against logic, the U.S. Secretary of Energy's pronouncements would have been, to say the least, astonishing.

But this official is merely echoing the already widely known pronouncements of his president, who has made energy a central issue on his agenda since his opening speech, promising to "end the Green New Deal" by favoring "liquid gold beneath our feet."

His first-day executive order, "Unleashing American Energy," followed a similar path.

Trump has repeatedly attempted to ridicule Biden's environmental concerns, while also defending liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to supposedly strengthen ties with energy-importing countries and boost the U.S. exploration and production industry.

For all these reasons, no one was truly surprised to hear Wright's position at CERAWeek 2025, and because it’s also known that the northern power is running rampant in the race for Artificial Intelligence and, as the speaker himself pointed out, "A massive amount of electricity is needed to generate intelligence. The more energy is invested, the more intelligence is produced."

The data centers that host AI servers are responsible for nearly 1% of global electricity consumption. GPT-4's energy consumption exceeds 400 megawatts per hour during its training. Photo: Freepick

As an alternative to the growing energy demand associated with AI and the use of fossil fuels, major technology giants such as Amazon, Google, and Meta pledged at the meeting to support tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050, backing the development of next-generation nuclear reactors "to emphasize the essential role of nuclear energy in improving energy security, resilience, and the continued supply of clean energy."

In contrast to the White House's aspirations, and as discussed at CERAWeek 2025, oil producers do not plan to increase spending this year, prioritizing efficiency over drilling expansion. It should not be forgotten that, despite US pressure to control gas and oil prices, the latter have fallen significantly below $67 per barrel.

But while the US pronouncements came as no surprise to anyone, environmentalists spoke out against Wright's speech. Believing that such positions leave the world vulnerable to catastrophic climate change, they even staged protests in front of the meeting venue and elsewhere.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff