Chris Wright, a Denver energy company executive who denies that climate change is a pressing threat, is President-elect Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Energy. Why it matters: The appointment puts Wright,

President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday that he has nominated Chris Wright, an executive of a fracking company who has fiercely criticized the existence of a climate crisis and the transition to renewable energy sources,

Wright has been one of the industry's loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change and could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration.