← Videos · Energy & Permitting

Wright Criticizes European Energy Policy at World Economic Forum Conversation

January 22, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:30:09

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

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a World Economic Forum conversation in Davos that President Trump was elected on an agenda of more energy — prosperity at home and peace abroad — according to the Department of Energy’s upload of the January 22, 2026 session. Wright said his criticism of European energy policy came, in his words, from a place of love as a lifelong admirer of Europe.

Wright argued the United States and Europe had diverged since 2010: the U.S. share of global energy consumption had risen from 25 percent to 28 percent while Europe’s had fallen from 25 percent to 18 percent, which he attributed to climate-driven policies that made energy expensive and unreliable. He said well over a trillion dollars had been spent across Europe — almost half a trillion in Germany alone — that EU grid capacity had doubled while German electricity output fell by almost 20 percent and British output by well over 25 percent, and that industry had left for Asia.

Wright said Germany still drew about 75 percent of its energy from hydrocarbons, as did the United Kingdom, after displacing coal and doubling or tripling electricity prices. He argued the United States wants a strong Europe and lower energy prices on both sides of the Atlantic so industry can return, and he contended that tackling climate change is more difficult than commonly assumed, noting what he described as record-low deaths from extreme weather.

Why it matters

The Davos appearance is Wright’s fullest statement of the administration’s energy critique of Europe — consumption shares, spending and industrial flight — delivered to the European policy audience itself.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins World Economic Forum Conversation on How to Fuel Our Lives - January 22, 2026”, 2026-01-22 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-01-22). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.