US energy secretary urges IEA to drop climate focus at Paris meeting

Wednesday 18 February 2026 - 18:10

By: Dakir Madiha

US energy secretary urges IEA to drop climate focus at Paris meeting

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright called on the International Energy Agency to abandon its climate related work during the organization’s ministerial meeting in Paris on Wednesday, escalating tensions that could lead Washington to withdraw from the influential global energy body.

Speaking at the biennial gathering of energy ministers from more than 40 governments, Wright urged member states to support a shift in the agency’s direction. “I want to get the support of all the nations of this noble organization to work with us, to press the IEA to abandon climate. These are political questions,” he said.

His remarks followed a speech on Tuesday at the French Institute of International Relations, where he accused the Paris based agency of acting as a climate advocacy organization and dismissed its net zero emissions scenarios as politically driven. Founded in 1974 after the Arab oil embargo, the IEA has become a central source of data and long term outlooks on global energy markets and the transition toward renewable power.

Wright said the United States would remain engaged if the agency returned to what he described as its original mandate of data collection, analysis of critical minerals and broader energy security issues. He warned that if the IEA continued to prioritize climate considerations, Washington could withdraw. The United States contributes roughly $6 million annually to the agency, about 14 percent of its budget. Wright first raised the possibility of withdrawal in July 2025 during discussions with IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

Birol rejected Wright’s characterization at Wednesday’s session, stating that the agency is apolitical and guided by data. The IEA has recently adjusted some of its messaging, reintroducing a current policies scenario in November after a five year absence and softening projections about an imminent peak in oil demand.

The dispute underscores broader divisions in global energy governance. In January, President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from multiple international climate frameworks, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. European leaders have criticized those moves while reaffirming commitments to energy transition policies.

European Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra described the broader US retreat from climate cooperation as regrettable, while Teresa Ribera, executive vice president of the European Commission, attended the Paris meeting to advocate continued focus on affordability, sustainability and security.

The tensions reflect diverging policy paths. The European Union is advancing its carbon border adjustment mechanism and maintaining its target of climate neutrality by 2050. The Trump administration has prioritized expanding fossil fuel production and scaling back clean energy initiatives. Wright also warned that the EU’s carbon border levy could threaten US liquefied natural gas exports to Europe, which have increased since the bloc reduced imports of Russian energy following the invasion of Ukraine.

The IEA ministerial meeting, chaired by Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Sophie Hermans, continues through Thursday.