The 29th World Gas Conference (WGC), one of the three flagship events of the International Gas Union (IGU), known as the "Olympics" of the global gas industry held every three years, is being held from Monday to Friday in Beijing for the first time in its nearly 100 years of history.
In an exclusive interview with the Global Times on Thursday, Li Yalan, president of the IGU, said that this conference is a window for Chinese gas companies to showcase their development achievements over the years and build a bridge of friendship between China and the global energy industry.
Li said that the successful holding of the WGC is a milestone for the development of the country's gas industry. It is an important stage for establishing international industry status, highlighting the country's industry development achievements, expanding international influence, and promoting international exchanges in the energy industry, she noted.
Established in 1931, the IGU is the world's largest international organization in the gas industry. It covers more than 90 percent of the global natural gas market, and is composed of more than 150 members from 80 countries around the world.
The IGU plays an important role in advocating for gas development worldwide. As one of the countries with the largest number of members in the organization, China has long attached importance to and supported the work of the IGU.
Li is not only the first Chinese president in the history of the IGU, but also the first female president in the history of the organization.
When Li officially took office as the president of the IGU in May 2022, she started work amid many uncertainties, such as natural gas supply shortages and high energy prices. At the same time, the IGU, which has a history of more than 90 years, is also facing new situations and new problems - when the world is launching an energy revolution, and what role can China play?
As the head of the international organization, Li said she mainly focused on two aspects after taking office.
The first is to further clarify the role and positioning of natural gas. When discussing energy development, countries and regions tend to emphasize one of the points of "sustainability," "safety" and "affordability," but in fact, it is necessary for the IGU to think about how to balance the relationship between the "energy triangle" and find a balance point, while avoiding putting too much emphasis on one end, Li said.
Natural gas is the world's third-largest energy source, with annual consumption of more than 4 trillion cubic meters, accounting for 24 percent of the energy mix. It is a key energy source for achieving the low-carbon energy transition and a clean fossil energy source. Replacing coal with natural gas is an effective measure to control air pollution, she noted.
At the same time, natural gas has the advantage of flexible regulation. As the best partner of renewable energy, the two can develop together. "With a specific and clear positioning, the confidence of the industry has been effectively increased," she said.
Meanwhile, China pays great attention to the imbalance of regional gas development, according to Li.
"We believe that different regions have different resource endowments and different stages of development. We should respect the choices of different countries in the process of the energy transition. We have proposed a development strategy for Latin American countries and added regional coordinators to distinguish Africa and the Middle East, which were originally classified as one region," Li said. "In order to reduce regional imbalances, we must make more voices and demands of different regions heard."
In the interview, Li said that the global energy transition must be based on security. The world is facing problems such as energy poverty, energy security, and climate change, and the low-carbon energy transition is imminent. The global gas industry must strengthen its confidence and make greater contributions to addressing climate change, maintaining energy security, and promoting the sustainable development of the industry.
The WGC is known as the "Olympics" of the global gas industry. The difficulty of holding the 29th WGC in China for the first time was no less than the "Olympics bid." From the first participation in the election in Berlin in 2014, to the successful election in Tokyo in 2017, and then to the successful hosting of the conference in Beijing in 2025, it took a strong "sense of faith" to dismantle the difficulties encountered in the past decade, one by one, according to Li.
When talking about the source of this "sense of faith," Li said that "I still remember that I often heard the previous generation of the Chinese gas industry say, 'I hope that one day a WGC can be held in China.' Although there have been many twists and turns in along the way, with the support of the country and the entire industry, with a strong belief, we finally realized this dream and fulfilled a dream of the people of China gas industry!"
Li said that the IGU welcomes more Chinese companies and industry organizations to participate in the organization's work and contribute Chinese wisdom to the development of the global gas industry. In this process, China can continue to strengthen the presence of the Chinese gas industry in the global governance system through a three-dimensional participation model, and also builds a high-end resource connection channel for enterprises to "go global."
(Source: Global Times)