Chris Wright gives IEA one year to ditch ‘net-zero’ climate agenda or lose US

Published February 19, 2026 10:04am ET



Energy Secretary Chris Wright threatened to pull the United States out of the International Energy Agency unless it backtracks, within one year, on its efforts to pursue net-zero carbon emissions, meaning having countries emit no more carbon into the atmosphere than they pull out of it. 

Wright pressured allied energy ministers at the IEA’s 2026 Ministerial Meeting in Paris to prioritize the production of traditional fossil fuels, such as oil and gas, over renewable alternatives. 

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