US Energy Secretary Threatens to Withdraw from IEA Over 'Net-Zero Agenda' Pressure

Kathmandu. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has reiterated his warning to withdraw from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Washington will pressure the organization to abandon its 'net-zero agenda' 'next year or later'.

Speaking on the final day of the IEA ministerial meeting in Paris, Wright said, "The 52-year-old organization tasked with ensuring energy security must return to its founding mission."

The IEA was created after the 1973 oil crisis to coordinate solutions for major supply disruptions. Wright stated, "The organization has adopted a climate agenda that includes the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050."

Wright told a press conference, "The United States will use all the pressure we have to move the IEA away from this agenda next year or later."

"If the IEA cannot focus on its mission of energy integrity, energy access, and energy security, then sadly we will cease to be a member of the IEA," he added.