US Energy Secretary Chris White says Nuclear Fusion Will Soon Power the World.

Don't worry too much about planet-warming emissions, the US Energy Secretary has told the BBC, because within five years AI will have enabled the harnessing of nuclear fusion – the energy that powers the sun and stars.

"With artificial intelligence and what's going on at the national labs and private companies in the United States, we will have that approach about how to harness fusion energy multiple ways within the next five years," said Mr Wright.

"The technology, it'll be on the electric grid, you know, in eight to 15 years."

Scientists believe nuclear fusion, which Mr Wright studied at university, could one day produce vast amounts of energy without heating up our atmosphere.

But it's a very complex process. Replicating it on Earth involves heating atoms to temperatures many times hotter than the sun.

He acknowledged that climate change is a "very real, physical phenomenon" and said that he believes the world will decarbonise: "It's just generations from now, not two or three decades from now."

Fossil Fuel + Fusion or Realistic Energy Resilience? America's Crossroads

Also consider Fossil Fuel + Fusion or Realistic Energy Resilience? America's Crossroads

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright recently suggested that nuclear fusion could be a commercially viable energy source within five years. At the same time, he lamented Britain"s focus on renewables, implying that the U.S. should stay the course with existing fossil fuel infrastructure while waiting for "fusion miracles." While optimism about fusion is admirable, it is not a credible near-term solution for America's energy challenges.