And that is the difference between the professor, now doubling as the energy secretary, and his predecessors. Issues of climate change are dear to him and he continues to champion them.
And this is exactly what he did in Riyadh last week - plain talking. It may have ruffled some feathers, yet the Nobel laureate that Secretary Chu also happens to be, remains a vocal voice in Washington of diversification away from fossil fuel. And since this resonates with the Washington political circles clamoring to diversify away from the Arab crude, he has supporters on both sides of the aisle too.
And all this has implications - in political terms. For more than six decades, it was the crude glue that kept Riyadh and Washington together. The US has been the largest market for Saudi crude and, conversely, Washington depended, and rather heavily, on Saudi shipments to quench its thirst for crude - a marriage of convenience in some sense.
And though even today Saudi Arabia remains a major crude supplier to the US, yet it is no longer the top one. A new development has in the meantime overtaken. China has become the top destination for Saudi crude.
And hence when asked if the crude glue binding the two nations together was slowly and gradually being chipped away, the top US energy diplomat was forthright. Neither did he deny, nor attempted at defending the changing equation. He simply conceded - it's happening both ways, "both wanted to diversify."
Things indeed change. National priorities live in a dynamic world and they adapt to the changing realities - and this is what seems to be happening on the energy front too.
And then the secretary presented his own version of the relationship between the two countries. Conceding that fossil fuel would continue to be a major part of the overall energy portfolio, for a number of reasons, yet he felt the Saudi - US relationship needed to be multifaceted. The two countries have common interest in promoting energy efficiency and conservation, he underlined.
The world is on an unsustainable energy path, he clamored. And then went on to say "we have a shared dimension to energy future and climate change." The relationship between Saudi Arabia and the US could be more diversified; he emphasized, pointing at the growing level of cooperation between the two countries in a number of other spheres. And in this context he specifically mentioned at KACST (King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology) and KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), emphasizing the US was keen to promote knowledge-based economy - so essential for growth in the changing global paradigm.
The lecture that Secretary Chu delivered at the International Energy Forum Secretariat was interesting thus in more than one ways. It was coming more from the professor rather than the politician. He was clear in thoughts - wealth of a society was not just proportional to carbon emission. Ironically, it's the American life style, based on abundant consumption, that people all over the world try and mimic. Are the Americans ready to change their life style - remains a question to be answered by the learned professor?
Chu, however, continued to challenge some of the well entrenched concepts. "We must target wealth creation through technology. Key input to economic growth is to come through innovation and not just via capital and labor. Growth and development is not a zero sum game. The Human Development Index (HDI) has many other inputs to look at - from education to the level of heath care - and for the society to grow and prosper, all these need to be looked at rather carefully and closely,' the professor ingrained in the secretary was out to stress upon.
Energy efficiency remained the focus of his presentation. He pointed to the revolution taking place. With transportation sector consuming almost 75 percent of the fossil fuel being used today, the race to promote efficiency in the sector seems very much on. Car engines are a major target now. The target for the engines is to yield 35.5 miles/gallon by 2016. Future truck engines are also to be more energy efficient. Jet engines are undergoing massive transformation, from oxygen sensors to air pressure and air temperature sensors, all are under spotlight, he pointed out. The engines throttle position sensors and jet engine temperature sensors are also being looked at closely, so as to help push energy efficiency to new levels.
The new refrigerators are to use 6 times less energy. The cost of solar cells is coming down. Breakthroughs in nano tube designs are making them more energy efficient. Aluminum refining process, so energy intensive is also undergoing massive changes, with battery charging mode being looked at currently. All this is going to herald a more energy efficient era, Chu put it rather explicitly. Chu also hinted at the strides in renewable and the nuclear renaissance taking place in various parts of the world.
A new energy model is being worked out. Fossil fuel would still be a part of the new era, of the new global energy equation, yet may not be as dominant as it is today. Technology is getting into the driving seat. And all this has far reaching implications for the producers. Yet with all the efforts being made today in the region - from KACST to KAUST and MASDAR and the like - it may not be as grave a scenario for this energy rich region as one some may think today.
