On May 20th, the 29th World Gas Congress (WGC2025) opened at the Beijing National Convention Center. This is the first time in nearly a century that the World Gas Conference has been held in China.
As one of the three flagship events of the International Gas Union (IGU), this conference, with the theme of "Empowering Sustainable Future", attracted more than 3000 guests from 70 countries and regions around the world to gather together for in-depth exchanges and consensus building in over 80 high-level thematic forums covering LNG development, natural gas and renewable energy coupling, energy security, digital transformation, and other fields. The exhibition area held at the same time as the conference reached 50000 square meters, which is the largest in the history of the World Gas Conference, attracting more than 30000 Chinese and foreign visitors to visit and exchange ideas.
Faced with multiple challenges such as climate change, energy security, and geopolitics, natural gas is becoming an indispensable supporting force in the global energy structure due to its abundant resources, clean and efficient, and economically applicable advantages.
As the world's largest importer of natural gas and liquefied natural gas, China's development experience is increasingly receiving international attention.
In her speech, Li Yalan, President of the International Gas Union, specifically mentioned that Beijing has improved air quality through the development of natural gas, providing a development paradigm that developing countries can learn from.
At present, the proportion of natural gas in Beijing has exceeded 35%. Through the vigorous implementation of "coal to gas" and other projects, the annual average concentration of PM2.5 in Beijing's air has decreased by more than 60% in the past decade, and the carbon emission intensity has decreased by nearly 50%. Beijing Mayor Yin Yong stated that "Beijing will continue to deepen international energy cooperation with an open attitude, promote sustainable urban development and green and low-carbon transformation of energy structure.
According to Wan Jinsong, Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration, China's energy production and consumption continue to grow, infrastructure is increasingly improved, the "national network" has been basically completed, and the natural gas allocation and emergency response capabilities have been significantly enhanced. Continuous breakthroughs have been made in the development of deep, deep-water, and unconventional resources, effectively driving the growth of natural gas production. Wan Jinsong suggests that based on international people's livelihoods, we should enhance our guarantee capabilities; Prioritize ecology to promote green development; Empowering the energy system with digitalization; Improve governance mechanisms through multilateral cooperation.
