United States Secretary of Energy Steven Chu presented his predictions, concerns and goals for the future of renewable energy — emphasizing the rapidly changing climate of energy-efficient technology development — to a packed audience in Cooke Auditorium on Thursday afternoon. Chu said he is optimistic that the United States can lead the rest of the world in clean energy invention and production by establishing a market in which technologies can be developed and sold within U.S. borders.

Chu began his presentation with two predictions — that the price of oil will continue to rise in coming decades as demand for oil from developing countries increases, and that humans will live in a “carbon-constrained” world in which carbon emissions aggravate rising global temperatures. While scientists still do not fully understand the land-biosphere interaction, data from the past 35 years show steep increases in greenhouse gases that cannot be attributed to natural fluctuations, he said. ...

Chu’s lecture, titled “Energy Innovation and America’s Competitiveness,” was the keynote speech at the Thayer School of Engineering’s third annual Great Issues in Energy Symposium. The symposium brings speakers dedicated to a single issue in the energy field to campus each year.