Green Energy Must For Pakistan’s Sustainable Growth The speakers at a webinar on Saturday urged the government to come up with a national green energy policy reducing reliance on fossil fuel consumption and exploring to develop solar energy financing for every household.
Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) organized the webinar on the subject “Pakistan’s Energy Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities under Green CPEC Alliance” to mark the World Environment Day, said a news release. Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed chaired the session. Well-known environment and energy expert Qaiser Aijaz was the keynote speaker. Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed, research analyst Farhat Rana, Rabia Sarwar, Ommer Kulsoom, financial expert Iftikhar Ahmed and young environmentalist Salman also spoke on the occasion.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said the government should come up immediately with the green financing of the domestic-energy use. “State Bank of Pakistan shall have a green energy financing policy for domestic use at a discounted rate. The federal and provincial resources shall be allocated to develop solar and wind energy farms to increase its share to 60 percent of total energy consumption.” He added that the hydropower plants were very expensive in terms of cost and time. He said climate disasters were increasing day by day.
“Over 150 incidents happened in the last one decade. We need to adopt measures as water scarcity has increased to the red point whereas immediate construction of check-dams and small dams shall be the priority.” Qaiser Aijaz said Pakistan’s main challenges from energy standpoint were the huge population of 220 million, non-availability of adequate indigenous energy resources, depleting oil and gas fields, no major oil and gas discoveries for past two decades, increased energy and oil prices in the international market, COVID-19 after-shocks, political and economic challenges, and high country risk and security factors.
He said the state-owned oil and gas companies be allowed to work independently, and constitute a federal body consisting of highly qualified professionals for selection of their top management. “We shall provide constitutional cover to the energy policies, framework and approved projects for continuity regardless of any regime expires.”
Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed said it is indeed a meaningful initiative to launch Green CPEC Alliance. It will improve the environmental conditions around the projects and initiatives. Also wipe off the doubts casted by the West on the CPEC projects for allegedly being the environment unfriendly. President Xi Jinping has already said two years back no more coal-fired power plants would be installed anywhere at the BRI regime worldwide.
The Green CPEC Alliance was expected to boost such initiatives with local partnerships once the enabling environment was provided and the one-window system was operationalized. The speakers said the government should direct most of the investments towards green energy Growth generation rather than exploration of oil and gas reservoirs.
Source: This news is originally published by nation.com.pk