Secretary Chu Discusses Energy and Climate Change

UNCLAS BEIJING 002158 STATE FOR SECC/STERN, EAP/CAMPBELL AND NORRIS, OES/MIOTKE, OES/EGC, EAP/CM, EEB/ESC STATE PASS USTR FOR LINSCOTT AND STRATFORD COMMERCE FOR KASOFF AND MELCHER ENERGY FOR SANDALOW AND YASHIDA SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG KGHG ECON SENV PGOV CH SUBJECT: Secretary Chu Discusses Energy and Climate Change Cooperation with Chinese Academy of Sciences President LU Yongxiang ¶1. (U) Summary: Secretary Chu met with Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) President LU Yongxiang on July 15 to discuss current and upcoming areas of cooperation in the areas of energy efficiency and climate change. Secretary Chu stressed the need for energy-efficient technologies such as efficient buildings, while LU said he hopes cooperation can increase in the areas of climate change and also health care research. Both agreed work needs to be done not only to research energy efficiency and climate change issues, but also to quickly get usable solutions to market. End Summary. COOPERATION, NEW AND OLD -------------- ¶2. (U) LU Yongxiang began the meeting by thanking Secretary Chu for his visit and said he feels energy issues and climate change are the two big challenges of this era. He pointed out that US-China cooperation in science goes all the way back to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He stressed the need to continue the exchange of scholars and scientists and suggested the possibility of signing a general framework of cooperation that could include energy issues and healthcare. ¶3. (U) Secretary Chu agreed that science transcends international boundaries and that the US-China relationship in dealing with energy and climate change is very important. He noted that the rest of the world will follow the example of the US and China when it comes to efforts to mitigate climate change. If the US and China move together, strongly, in the right direction, the rest of the world will follow. The US intends to lead in this effort. As part of that effort, he said the Department of Energy (DOE) is announcing the creation of a USD 15 million Joint Energy Research and Development Cooperation Center between the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST),the National Energy Administration (NEA),CAS, and the US Department of Energy (DOE) during his visit. The goal will be to mutually develop ideas that can make it all the way to market - for example, energy efficient buildings that use 80 percent less energy than they do today. He stressed that the US and China need to co-develop new energy and energy efficiency technologies so both countries will own the intellectual property rights and can deploy the new technology throughout our respective countries. STAY ON TARGET -------------- ¶4. (U) Secretary Chu noted that CAS and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are already cooperating on carbon capture and sequestration technology, coal-to-liquid fuel and gasification technology, and modeling energy efficiency. He said both sides needed to take a closer look at this cooperation and possibly include it under the new Joint Energy Research and Development Cooperation Center to avoid duplication of efforts. ¶5. (U) LU mentioned that both sides need to decide which areas to focus on and establish long-term projects that include not only the technology breakthroughs, but also how to implement that technology. Secretary Chu agreed that this is important especially in the climate change area and that we need to be faster in getting from concept to "in field" use. ¶6. (U) Secretaries Chu did not have an opportunity to review this report before departing Beijing. GOLDBERG