ZAGREB, 28 April (Hina) - U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright in Dubrovnik called for the development of infrastructure needed to expand natural gas markets, describing it as “cheap and clean” energy.
Wright arrived in Dubrovnik for the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) summit taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Speaking at a dinner organised by the Atlantic Council and Prvo Plinarsko Društvo, he said he was present as US President Donald Trump’s envoy.
Wright, who took up the post after a career in the fossil fuels sector and, as an energy expert with degrees from MIT and Berkeley, is also familiar with nuclear, solar and geothermal energy, stressed that the world needs more, not less energy.
The United States is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas, which Wright describes as “the fastest-growing energy source on the planet.“
For that reason, infrastructure needs to be built – in the United States, in Europe and in Croatia, he said, highlighting the LNG terminal on the northern Adriatic island of Krk as another example of Croatian–American partnership, built not only for Croatia but also for the needs of the wider region.
Wright described natural gas as “cheap, clean, flexible”, saying it supports data centres, industrial production, electricity supply, heating and the petrochemical industry.
Against ‘climate alarmism‘
The Energy Secretary, whom Trump introduced after his appointment as one of the pioneers of the American shale revolution, also spoke in Dubrovnik against “climate alarmism”, a topic he frequently addresses.
Wright, a leading advocate of U.S. “energy dominance”, argues that such “alarmism” threatens the prosperity, freedom and security of states.
In his public remarks, he says that climate change is a “real physical phenomenon”, but that nothing in the data indicates that it is even close to the world’s most urgent problem.
U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Nicole McGraw said in a recent interview with Hina that the 3SI summit would see “monumental” deals between the United States and Croatia, mentioning in that context data centres and artificial intelligence.
Croatian Economy Minister Ante Šušnjar, who also spoke at the event in Dubrovnik, said natural gas infrastructure requires not only import capacity but also stronger connectivity, cross-border assistance and market cooperation.
He described the Krk LNG terminal as having evolved from a “national project” into a regional asset, while noting remaining bottlenecks in both physical infrastructure and regulation.
He added that Croatia’s priorities include stronger north–south connectivity and better integration of LNG capacity in the region, saying Croatia is ready to play its role.
The Three Seas Initiative summit begins on Tuesday, with the initiative returning to Dubrovnik ten years after its first meeting there in 2016.
Ahead of the summit, the government and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said Croatia’s presidency aims to upgrade the Three Seas Initiative for a new decade by strengthening its financial dimension and transforming it from a political format into an “investment platform”.
Since 2019, the Three Seas Initiative has had an investment fund worth around €1 billion, although most of the funding has so far come from member states. The Dubrovnik summit aims to shift this model by attracting private capital for investments intended to help the region catch up with Western Europe in terms of energy, transport and infrastructure connectivity.
Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said the summit is the largest event ever hosted in Croatia, attracting interest “beyond expectations”, with nearly 1,600 registered participants. The accompanying business forum will bring together representatives of 724 companies from 45 countries.
