U.S. Tells International Energy Agency to Drop Its Focus on Climate Change

The Trump administration this week threatened to pull the United States out of the International Energy Agency unless the agency abandoned its focus on tackling climate change. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the IEA had become a “climate advocacy organization” and should stop publishing its annual road map for eliminating planet-warming fossil fuel emissions by 2050, known as its “net zero scenario.” “We don’t need a net zero scenario, that’s ridiculous, it’s not going to happen,” Mr.

Wright said, adding he wanted the agency to “focus on energy security” and that “if they insist that it’s so dominated and infused with climate stuff, then we’re out.” The IEA is influential: its data and reports on oil stockpiles, electric vehicle sales and other energy trends inform companies and investors around the world.

The United States provides around 14 percent of the agency’s budget and is among its 32 member states.

United States

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