Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Wednesday touted the Trump administration's "new energy realism" of investment and innovation in renewable energy while "making fossil fuels cleaner" at the same time.
Perry made the comments during his speech at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, the Washington Examiner reported.
"Let us unleash innovation, let us invest in emission-free resources like nuclear and hydro [power] while at the same time making fossil fuels cleaner," the Examiner quoted Perry.
Perry stressed that it will be another 20-plus years before the world can be independent of fossil fuels, saying it's better to "make fossil fuels cleaner rather than abandoning them," the Examiner reported.
"Due to a cascade of technology breakthroughs driven by innovation, America is producing abundant energy from a wider range of sources than we ever thought possible, and we are using that energy more cleanly and efficiently than ever before," Perry said.
"The lesson is we don't need to choose between growing the economy and caring for our environment," Perry said. "That is at the heart of the new energy realism," the Examiner reported.
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