International Energy Agency: China will become the world’s largest importer of liquefied natural gas

International Energy Agency Administrator Fatih Birol said on June 16 that in recent years, the global development of liquid natural gas has been very rapid, and the proportion of LNG facilities under construction in all countries exceeds that of pipeline transportation of natural gas; at the same time, the volume of trade has increased rapidly, especially in Asia. China is expected to overtake Japan as the world’s largest importer of liquefied natural gas. In 2025, nearly 50 countries will import liquefied natural gas.

Fatih Birol made this prediction at the “High-end Forum of Clean Power International Engineering Science and Technology 2019″ held in Beijing on the 16th.

He analyzed that 2018 was the fastest growing year for global primary energy demand. Half of the new energy demand is met by natural gas, followed by renewable energy and oil, coal and nuclear energy. China’s extensive “Blue Sky Project” and prevention and control of atmospheric pollution have led to a substantial increase in global natural gas demand.

“But at the rate of growth, global electricity demand is growing twice as fast as other energy sources, and our world is increasingly affected by electricity.” Fatih Birol said.

In his view, China’s photovoltaic power generation, wind power generation and related equipment manufacturing are at the highest level in the world, leading the development of related industries in the world. The Chinese government’s policy support for wind and photovoltaic power generation not only benefits China, but also benefits the whole world.

With the increasing global energy demand, environmental pressure is still increasing. In 2018, global carbon dioxide emissions reached an all-time high.

“Climate change is a huge challenge that cannot be solved by a single technology, nor by renewable energy alone. It requires the integration of technologies. We hope to continue to cooperate with China in renewable energy utilization, hydrogen energy, nuclear energy development and carbon dioxide capture and storage, so as to bring greater help to global environmental improvement. Fatih Birol said.