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US Energy Secretary Chris Wright sent a direct message to European countries, which are facing record temperatures this week, urging them to stop raising alarm about the heat wave. According to him, cold continues to be far more deadly than high temperatures.
" More people always die in the winter than in the summer, because cold is a much bigger killer than heat ," Wright said in a video message at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference, a forum attended by prominent conservative figures, many of whom oppose the scientific consensus on climate change.
Wright referred to the energy crisis that hit Europe after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, arguing that rising energy prices had severe consequences for mortality during the winter. " The consequences of that development on mortality were catastrophic ," he said.
His statements came at a time when European governments have warned of the dangers posed by the current heatwave, which brings back memories of the summer of 2022, when over 60,000 people lost their lives on the continent as a result of extreme temperatures.
The conference was also attended by well-known political and economic figures, including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Bayer CEO Bill Anderson.
Although the number of deaths related to low temperatures remains higher in Europe than those caused by heat, experts warn that climate change is making heat waves more frequent, more intense and more deadly. In the United States, meanwhile, high temperatures are considered the leading cause of deaths related to extreme weather conditions.
Record temperatures in June have caused school closures, transport disruptions and power outages in several European countries. In France, around 40 people have died trying to cool off in the water, while some Climate Action Week events in London were cancelled due to the extreme conditions.
Unlike the US administration, which promotes natural gas as the main energy solution, the European Union is accelerating the transition to renewables. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized European investments in wind and solar power, calling them "wasted energy."
"We need to understand climate change for what it is: a slowly evolving phenomenon that will be addressed with better technologies. Today, the most important catalyst is undoubtedly natural gas," Wright said.
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