Republicans Ask Energy Secretary to Retract ‘Alarming’ Praise of China’s Climate Efforts

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in a file photo. Andrew Harnik/Pool/AP Photo

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are seeking a retraction from Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who praised the regime in China for its efforts to combat climate change, and are demanding that Granholm “testify immediately.”

Granholm, during a March 10 interview for the 2023 South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, said that “we can all learn from what China is doing” to lessen its carbon footprint. She commended China for being “very sensitive” on the issue of climate change, claiming that its investments in clean energy have been “encouraging.”

The GOP lawmakers told Granholm in a March 13 letter (pdf) that they were “deeply troubled” by her remarks, which they said raised “serious questions about [her] judgment and priorities” as energy secretary.

“China poses one of the greatest economic, military, and geopolitical threats to the United States, while continuing to be one of the world’s worst polluters,” they wrote. “As the Secretary of Energy, your core responsibilities involve national security, particularly maintaining and certifying the reliability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent and protecting our most sensitive technological secrets from theft by our chief adversaries, Russia and China.”

Granholm’s “alarming” comments, the lawmakers added, “at best, reflect an uninformed, unserious perspective on the goals and intentions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its abysmal human rights and environmental record.”

The lawmakers also expressed concern over the Biden administration’s “rush-to-green agenda,” noting that the energy sources the administration has been promoting largely rely on critical minerals sourced from China.

“Plus, this administration’s constant promotion of mandates and subsidies to electrify our transportation systems will result in American mobility controlled with components and materials from China,” they added. “Meanwhile, the CCP continues to build and utilize coal-fired power plants at home and abroad to further spread its influence, while increasing its carbon emissions.”

Other experts have shared that concern.

Kelly Sloan, a senior fellow in energy and environment at Centennial Institute, questioned China’s motives in investing in climate-friendly initiatives. He suggested in a recent interview with Epoch Times’ sister outlet NTD that the regime’s end goals are less likely to be about climate change than they are about glorifying China and weaponizing the demand for green energy materials against its adversaries.

Stressing China’s significant share of the market for materials such as copper, cobalt, and lithium, the Republican legislators maintained that Granholm’s comments only serve to aid China in its agenda, adding, “We expect you to make yourself available to the Committee to testify immediately.”

The Department of Energy didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.