Entrepreneur and former US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-lead Vivek Ramaswamy on Thursday, July 2, 2026, argued that harmful climate policies have caused more damage to ordinary people than climate change itself, calling for an aggressive expansion of fossil fuel production and nuclear energy to lower electricity costs and spur economic growth.

Context

In the post, Ramaswamy wrote: 'More people have been harmed by bad climate change policies than they have by climate change itself. It's time to drill, frack, continue using coal, and embrace nuclear energy. That's how we bring down electric bills and drive an economic boom.'

The statement is consistent with positions Ramaswamy advanced throughout his 2024 Republican presidential campaign, during which he repeatedly called for repealing climate regulations, expanding fossil fuel leasing on federal lands, and fast-tracking nuclear energy permits as a route to lower consumer energy prices.

Policy Backdrop

The call to 'drill, frack, continue using coal, and embrace nuclear energy' echoes the 'energy dominance' agenda pursued during the first Trump administration (2017–2021), which withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement and issued executive orders expanding oil, gas, and coal leasing on federal lands.

That policy direction stands in direct contrast to the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which directed hundreds of billions of dollars toward renewable energy subsidies and emissions-reduction programmes — a framework that critics on the right have argued raises consumer electricity bills and burdens industry with compliance costs.

Ramaswamy is the founder and executive chairman of Strive Asset Management, an investment firm that explicitly opposes ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing mandates, arguing that such frameworks subordinate shareholder returns to political objectives.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of the policy mix Ramaswamy advocates would be domestic oil, gas, and coal producers, who stand to gain from expanded federal leasing and reduced regulatory compliance costs. Electricity consumers, particularly in industrial and manufacturing-heavy states, could see lower bills if increased supply drives down wholesale energy prices — an argument that proponents of fossil fuel expansion have made for years.

Opponents counter that accelerating fossil fuel production locks in long-term emissions trajectories that raise climate-related costs for governments and households, and that the transition costs of decarbonisation are front-loaded while the economic benefits accrue over decades. Environmental and public health advocates also argue that communities near extraction sites bear disproportionate health and environmental burdens.

What's Next

Federal permitting reforms and Interior Department leasing decisions expected through 2025 and 2026 are likely to determine how much of this policy agenda translates into expanded drilling acreage and streamlined nuclear licensing. Ramaswamy's continued public advocacy — now from his perch as a prominent entrepreneur and policy voice rather than a candidate — keeps these positions in circulation ahead of any future legislative or executive action on energy policy.

With energy affordability emerging as a persistent concern for American households, the debate between rapid decarbonisation and maximum domestic fossil fuel output is set to remain a central fault line in US economic and environmental policy.