U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has issued a one-year deadline for the International Energy Agency (IEA) to abandon its net-zero emissions agenda or risk the United States withdrawing from the organization. Speaking at an IEA ministerial meeting in Paris, Wright criticized IEA’s goal for the world to achieve net zero by 2050 as a “destructive illusion” with a “zero percent chance” of being realized.
According to Wright, the global energy agency would be better served by refocusing on its founding mandate of energy security, energy access, and “energy honesty,” rather than acting as a “climate advocacy organisation”.
Wright has pressured the IEA to stop forecasting net-zero scenarios, claiming they distort global energy data and drive “deindustrialization”. He, however, conceded that withdrawal by the United States could allow China to gain more influence over the agency, stating that “our goal is not to withdraw” but to use “all the pressure we have” to reform it from within.
The IEA’s “Net Zero by 2050” plan sets out how the global energy sector could reach net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. The goal is to keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement. “Net zero” means that any greenhouse gases still released are balanced by removing the same amount from the atmosphere. That can happen naturally, such as through forests and other carbon sinks, or through technology like carbon capture and storage.
The Trump administration is supporting carbon capture where it helps oil production, while cutting broader climate spending. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, keeps and expands the 45Q tax credit. It raises the credit for carbon dioxide used in enhanced oil recovery to $85 per metric ton, the same level as the credit for permanent underground storage. That change makes it more attractive for oil companies to inject CO? into older fields to increase output.
At the same time, the Department of Energy has canceled billions of dollars in clean energy and carbon capture funding. That includes $3.7 billion in grants meant to help heavy industries lower emissions. In short, the administration is keeping support for carbon capture tied to oil production, while cutting funding for other decarbonization programs.
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com
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