Julia Nesheiwat – U.S. Government Views on Energy Diplomacy in the 21st Century

Julia Nesheiwat, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Implementation in the Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR), recently addressed a diverse group of Stanford students and affiliates during a lunchtime talk. DAS Nesheiwat’s presentation provided insights into the role and mission of the ENR, and she was able to clarify many students’ concerns regarding global energy consumption, and U.S. attempts to shape international energy programs.

Here are some of the key points from DAS Nesheiwat’s talk:

• While the DOE focuses on the technology aspect of energy, the ENR deals with the geopolitics of energy management
• The main goal of the ENR is to ensure sustainable, reliable and affordable access to diverse energy supplies
• The projected world primary energy demand by fuel does not correspond to a sustainable future – significant changes must be made to the energy balance
• Over 1.2 billion people in the world do not have access to electricity
• The main objectives of Sustainable Energy Access for All (SE4ALL) are:
  1) Ensure universal access to modern energy services
  2) Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
  3) Double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
• The State Department promotes these objectives by participating in clean energy tech partnerships and financing private capital
• “Hard security and energy issues are increasingly intertwined”; thus energy diplomacy is essential
• There is a great amount of commercial opportunity in the gas and power sector that U.S. businesses can and should capitalize on
• The natural gas revolution has opened and will open up new markets, creating increased demand in certain pockets

The Stanford Energy Club thanks the SLS Energy Club and the Environmental Law Society for co-sponsoring this interdisciplinary event.