The 7th World Geothermal Congress (WGC2023), hosted by China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), has unveiled a historic milestone in the realm of sustainable energy. During the closing ceremony held in Beijing, WGC2023 officially released the world’s first geothermal industry standards and the visionary Beijing Declaration.
This landmark release of the industry’s foundational documents is poised to redefine the principles that guide the sustainable and high-quality development of the global geothermal industry. This development is set to elevate geothermal and clean energy to unprecedented levels, with the potential to make substantial contributions towards addressing climate change, enhancing energy security, and improving the lives of people worldwide.
The Beijing Declaration, a cornerstone of this initiative, represents a collective commitment from all WGC2023 participants, with the backing of stakeholders worldwide, to position geothermal energy as one of the most prominent and competitive energy sources of the future. To achieve this goal, the declaration emphasizes four fundamental principles:
Sustainable Development: WGC2023 pledges to raise global awareness about the critical role of the geothermal industry in addressing climate change.
Openness and Cooperation: The Congress is dedicated to fostering technological innovation and promoting high-quality development within the geothermal industry through collaboration.
Fairness and Rationality: WGC2023 commits to promoting equitable cooperation and development within the global geothermal sector.
Win-Win and Sharing: The Congress aims to deepen global cooperation within the geothermal industry, ensuring mutual benefits for all stakeholders.
Simultaneously, the Beijing Declaration calls for intensified efforts to bolster public awareness and policy support for geothermal development. It advocates for the advancement of global technological innovation, the dissemination of geothermal technology and knowledge, support for global energy transformation, and the promotion of high-quality development within the global geothermal industry.
The newly introduced Standard, inspired by China’s pioneering geothermal practices, charts a sustainable model for the entire life cycle of geothermal energy. This comprehensive set of technical standards covers various aspects of low- and medium-temperature hydrothermal geothermal heating, encompassing geothermal resource evaluation, heat load calculation, mining scheme design, drilling and completion engineering, heating engineering, monitoring, and control.
Dr Ma Yongsheng, Chairman of Sinopec, underscored the corporation’s unwavering commitment to the clean and efficient development and utilization of geothermal energy. He stated, “Sinopec has built solid strengths and accumulated rich experiences in the clean and efficient development and utilization of geothermal energy, and it is our goal as well as responsibility to accelerate progress in this regard and promote global green and low-carbon growth.”
