International energy leader hails China's efforts in energy reform

The photo shows Urban Rusnak, the Secretary-General of International Energy Charter. [Photo: Chinaplus]

A senior official with an international energy group is lauding what's being done to re-tool China's energy sector, suggesting its likely to have an impact on the global energy market. 

Urban Rusnak is the Secretary-General of International Energy Charter, which headquartered in Brussels.

He says what's being done in China to revamp the energy sector is helping improve energy efficiency and cut back on air pollution.

Rusnak notes the air quality in Beijing has been systematically improving since he first began to travel to the Chinese capital 7-years ago.

"I was every year traveling to Beijing and I see that the air improving. I could see the blue sky and the Olympic blue become often in Beijing. So I think this will continue to improve. Of course it will cost money. It needs change of technologies. You have to do here in China. "

Plans are in place in China to replace huge amounts of fossil fuels with renewable energy in the latest five year plan.

By the end of 2020, the amount of electricity supplied by renewable sources is scheduled to make up nearly 30 percent of the total power generation.

Rusnak also says the Chinese government's desire for quality, rather than rapid economic growth is also helping change the structure of energy consumption, which he says will eventually have a huge influence on the global energy market. 

"I also see China in energy sector is opening up and it's making important decisions which are actually influencing the whole world. We hope China will manage its energy transition. It influences the price. It influences consumption of major energy and resources all around the world."

To diversify the energy supply, China's goverment has been tapping various resources, including three natural gas pipelines which connect with Central Asian countries.

Another pipeline currently under construction to deliver gas from Turkmenistan will also run through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The 1,000-km Line is designed to deliver 30 billion cubic meters natural gas annually.

The four pipelines together will have a total imported natural gas capacity of 85 billion cubic meters, which enough gas to heat around 21-million homes per year.

Urban Rusnak says the project is a milestone for international energy cooperation.

"I remember very well when the discussions started about the news that China is building the pipeline from Turkmenistan to China. And many experts call this (plan) as nonsense, something will never happen to build a thousand kilometers pipeline from central Asia to the eastern coast of China. I would call it miracle. The pipeline is built very fast and of high quality something like a dream become reality."

Stats also show that China has surpassed South Korea to become the world's second-largest importer of liquefied natural gas in 2017.

As the government continues to encourages clean energy consumption, natural gas consumption is expected to keep growing.

Apart from central Asia, Chinese authorities are also continuing to look for new channels for natural gas through the signing energy pacts with various countries across the world. 

Last November, China and the United States signed several preliminary agreements for LNG exports to China, including exports from the Sabine Pass on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. 

US firm Cheniere Energy has also struck two long-term deals to sell liquefied natural gas to China National Petroleum Corporation.

The Houston-based energy company will sell about 1.2 million tons of LNG a year to CNPC as part of two seperate sales agreements that extend through 2043.