China’s premier, Wen Jiabao, meets with UNU-GTP fellows in Iceland
His excellency, Wen Jiabao, the Premier of the State Council of the People‘s Republic of China, came to Iceland on a two-day official visit on 20-21 April. The Premier met with the Icelandic Prime Minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, and he also visited the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. The Premier visited various interesting geological sites during his stay in Iceland, but he himself has a degree in geology from the China University of Geoscience. Seventy eight scientists and engineers from China have received specialized training at the UNU-GTP in Iceland. Several of them are among the leading geothermal experts in China.
The Premier had requested a meeting with Director Ingvar B. Fridleifsson and students of the United Nations University Geothermal Training Programme (UNU-GTP) during his visit in Iceland.
Eight of the UNU-GTP PhD and MSc students met with the Premier at the Hellisheidi geothermal plant, where three students summarised their projects and geothermal resources and utilisation in their
home country. Present at the meeting were Wen Jiabao the Chinese Premier, Össur Skarphédinsson, Minister for Foreign Affairs in Iceland, Árný
Sveinbjörnssdóttir professor of geology at University of Iceland, Bjarni Bjarnason Director General of Orkuveita Reykjavíkur, and the Chinese media and other officials.
The students who introduced their projects were:
Pacifca F. A. Ogola (PhD) from Kenya, with “The power to change: Creating lifeline and mitigation-adaptation opportunities through geothermal energy utilisation”. José
Roberto Estévez Salas (MSc) from El Salvador, with “Geothermal power plant projects in Central America: technical and financial feasibility assessment model”. Huang Jiachao
(MSc) from China, told the Premier in Chinese about his thesis: “Management of sedimentary geothermal resource”. Jiachao graduated from the same University as the Premier, Wen
Jiabao, as have many of the former UNU-GTP Fellows from China.
After the student’s introduction there was an opportunity for interactive discussion with the Premier, during which he was asked whether geothermal resources would be included in the future
climate mitigation plans of China. The Premier replied that geothermal is already included in China’s climate mitigation plans and that geothermal would play an even larger role in the
next revision of the mitigation plan.
The UNU-GTP was greatly honoured to have had the opportunity of a scholarly discussion with the Premier of the most populous country in the world. China is blessed with geothermal resources in
almost every province. China’s efforts in geothermal energy development can play a major role in the global climate change mitigation by replacing coal with the use of geothermal heat
pumps. For comparison, about 30% of the total primary energy in industrialised countries like in Europe is used for space and water heating alone.
The Premier kindly presented the UNU Fellows and staff with geologically related gifts from his home country. Hopefully, this visit will further strengthen the relationship between Iceland and
China, as well as between the UNU and China.