Paris (France) (AFP) - The "climate cult" has weakened the European economy, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an interview with AFP on Tuesday, in which he called the way the United States views the relationship with Europe "affectionate firmness."

First modification: 02/18/2026 - 18:03

"The experience of these last 17 years, which can fairly be described as a climate cult, has only increased the price of energy," said Wright, after participating in a conference at the headquarters of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) in Paris.

"Europe as a whole produces less energy today than 17 years ago, and prices have increased considerably," he added.

According to Wright, these policies "have simply relocated jobs to Asia. They have reduced economic opportunities for Europeans. They have made it difficult to pay their bills and have made Europe very dependent on Russia."

Since Donald Trump's return to the White House in 2025, the United States has undertaken a vigorous rollback of policies aimed at curbing global warming.

The US president announced last Thursday the repeal of a text adopted during Barack Obama's government in 2009 that served as the basis for the fight against greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

And as soon as Trump came to power, the United States also withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, for the second time after doing so during his first term (2017-2021).

"The real impact (of climate change) is that the world is a little warmer, a little greener, a little wetter," Wright said Tuesday, stressing that climate policies "don't even affect that."

The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, aims to limit warming "well below" 2°C, and the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 have been the warmest ever recorded, according to the European Copernicus institute.

Greenland

Regarding the relationship between the United States and Europe, subject to strong headwinds since Trump claimed to want to acquire Greenland, Wright evoked Washington's "affectionate firmness."

"The United States is a solid ally of the European Union. In fact, all the affectionate firmness of the United States aims to encourage Europe to equip itself with a stronger army, a more robust energy system, a more solid economy," he explained.

"There has never been any possibility of the United States invading Greenland," said the Trump administration's energy secretary.

On Saturday, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Trump "still wants" to seize Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory.

Oil production in Venezuela

Asked about oil in Venezuela, Wright, who visited Caracas in recent days, stressed that "the objective is to considerably increase oil production."

According to estimates, this production would have already generated some $1 billion since the fall of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was arrested on January 3 by US forces.

"All the money returns to Caracas," Wright also said, detailing the financing circuit that goes through US Treasury accounts.

"All the corruption networks that looted Venezuelan oil are also being strangled," Wright said.

"Much to do at the IEA"

The United States had threatened in July to withdraw from the IEA after failing to reform it, especially regarding climate protection.

"First steps have been taken, but there is still much to do. Much of the IEA's work is focused on climate change and the 'trick' of net zero emissions of the Paris Agreement," he said, alluding to the IEA's modeling of the path forward to achieve the carbon neutrality necessary to curb global warming by 2050.

© 2026 AFP

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