Bill Gates was among first to meet with Biden’s energy secretary: Report
Bill Gates is among the first to meet with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, reports the Associated Press. (Photo: File)
The list of top business leaders and other power players to meet with President Barack Obama’s energy secretary is long: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer came on the list, as did Henry Kissinger.
But it took seven months for the first one to meet with Chu, who the White House says is part of Obama’s commitment to a clean energy economy.
In addition, it was just before Christmas before Gates, at 70, met with Chu at the United States Department of Energy headquarters in Washington.
Chu took questions from reporters on Capitol Hill and the Hill about the clean tech issues.
The meetings came as Chu was asked to do some light-bulb switching in the administration.
He made sure he was out with reporters before getting to the energy issues, which he says is a “good sign” for the country.
But Gates appears to be the rare energy CEO who actually met with the Obama administration’s top energy secretary.
Gates has come under fire in recent months over Gates’s lack of action on climate change.
The CEO of the world’s largest personal computer maker appears to be one of the few oil and gas executives to meet with Obama’s top energy official.
The fact that Gates was among the first to meet with Chu suggests that the meeting was just one step in a long process to address the urgent energy issues.
But Gates has come under scrutiny recently for his lack of action on climate change. He has pledged that he will meet with Obama but never followed through.
Gates has long promoted clean energy technologies. In July, Gates helped launch a $25 million campaign to fight climate change. He has also joined forces with the University of California, to develop clean energy technologies.
Here was Gates talking to Chu at a meeting in April:
But the meeting took place before a federal energy bill passed through the Senate, which Gates voted against.
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