The US wants Europe to continue using oil and gas instead of renewable energies

The world's investments in renewable energies aren't paying off and should be focused on securing a reliable supply of fossil fuels. This was the message from U.S. Energy and Interior Secretaries this week, as they tried to convince Europe to purchase more U.S. gas and oil.

On the back of U.S. shale gas boom, the U.S. is now Europe's largest oil and natural gas supplier. Its companies are trying to increase their share at a time when the European Union is attempting to cut off all remaining Russian energy imports.

The message of U.S. officials during an energy conference held in Athens, Greece this week highlighted the shift in U.S. policies under the Trump Administration. This administration has rolled back many environmental regulations and praised oil and gas as the main driver for U.S. economic growth and influence abroad.

The transition to renewable energy hasn't been successful, said U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright at the conference where U.S. firms announced deals to drill and supply gas to Europe.

Wright said that on Thursday he wants the U.S. replace "every molecular" of Russian gas going into Western Europe.

The United States says that RENEWABLES have not been delivered.

The U.S. produces more than 20 million barrels of oil and liquids every day - that's one fifth of the barrels produced in the entire world.

The message shows the difference between the EU and many other nations, who agreed this week to reduce emissions by 90 percent by 2040 compared to 1990 levels, although the goals were diluted from the previous ones.

Wright stated that the world has spent between $ 4 trillion and $8 trillion connecting solar and wind farms into the grid but, last year, such sources represented only 2.6% of global electricity.

Wright said that "we spend more on low-carbon energies every year than we do on hydrocarbons but...the shift in money hasn't resulted in an energy shift", he later called climate change a "hoax".

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated: "There's no energy transition. There is only energy addition." (Written by Edward McAllister, edited by Mark Potter.)

(source: Reuters)