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Wright on Varney for Earth Day: Save the Humans, End Energy Subsidies

April 22, 2025 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:05:05

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright joined Varney & Co. on Earth Day, April 22, 2025. Asked the White House message for the day, Wright said it is to save the humans on the planet, arguing that a wealthy, successful society gets cleaner air, cleaner water, and better lives, while treating humans as collateral damage for abstract planetary goals makes everyone — environment and humans — lose.

The host noted a report that 66 percent of new electricity generating capacity came from solar, with Texas leading installations, and asked about proposed tariffs of up to 3,500 percent on solar panels made in Southeast Asia. Wright said the panels will be made in the United States, which already manufactures them and can make more, and accused China of dumping product below cost to control the supply chain while Western nations spend heavily on solar. He also distinguished capacity from actual generation, noting subsidized capacity is not the same as electricity generated, particularly at peak demand.

Wright criticized federal spending levels and said President Trump and his administration are working to reverse the tide, though Congress controls the purse strings. He said he personally hopes all subsidies for all kinds of energy get ended, calling that the only way to drive down prices and reduce the growth of government.

Why it matters

The Earth Day appearance inverts the day’s usual framing — human welfare first — and pairs it with a protectionist solar policy and an end-all-subsidies position that goes further than the administration’s enacted energy bills.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Fox Business Varney & Co. - April 22, 2025”, 2025-04-22 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-04-22). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.