On February 19, 2025, the recently confirmed Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, stated in an interview with Fox Business that “there’s pluses to global warming as well as negatives.” To further this point, Wright made a number of factually incorrect or misleading claims about the so-called positive impacts of climate change, including that “a warmer planet with more CO2 is better for growing plants” and that “we have far more people die of the cold than die of the heat.” Heated explained that, while aspects of Wright’s statements may be correct, in context they misrepresent climate science. Climate scientists describe Wright’s statements as “a regurgitation of disinformative talking points” and “total antiscientific nonsense.”
Wright’s comments in the Fox interview are inconsistent with his statements at his Senate confirmation hearing, where he acknowledged “Climate change is a global challenge that we need to solve.”