KARACHI:Speakers at a webinar on the use of fossil fuels in energy mix and climate change challenges emphasised the need for preparing a policy framework to increase the use of renewables for energy production in Pakistan. Currently over two-thirds of the country’s energy mix is produced through
fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal.
Fossil fuels are the main source of greenhouse gases emissions, which are posing a threat to the climate, causing an increase in global warming. These views were expressed by national and international energy and environment experts who were speaking at a webinar “The Path to Climate Action: Rethinking Fossil Fuels in Pakistan’s Energy Mix” on Thursday.
The webinar was jointly organized by The Knowledge Forum, a Karachi based think tank working on human rights and development, and Climate Analytics, a global organization working on advancing scientific knowledge on climate change. The webinar sought to mainstream climate science-based discourse on fossil fuels in Pakistan’s context. The discussion drew from a 2021 report by Climate Analytics titled “Why gas is the new coal”.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Victor Maxwell, one of the authors of the report, in his presentation, highlighted the energy access and development challenges of Pakistan. He observed that in recent years, Pakistan has met growing energy demand mostly through an increase in coal production in the Thar area and importing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
He said natural gas is the largest source of fossil carbon dioxide emission, which continues to be prioritized in Pakistan’s energy mix despite falling reserves, methane emissions, and a volatile and pricy LNG market. A climate scientist and physicist Bill Hare, who is also the CEO of Climate Analytics said the Paris Agreement provides a globally fair framework to limit emissions to 1.5 degrees centigrade. “We have a big challenge before us to reduce the global emission by 2030,” he remarked.
Mr. Bill Hare said Pakistan, due to its climate vulnerability, may find relevant resources in its efforts to adapt to reduce emissions by 1.5 degrees centigrade. However, issues such as the choice of energy mix, and cost and sustainability of those choices need to come from local/national dialogue forums as these set a country’s direction to a path to climate action. Mr. Bill Hare pointed out that Pakistan has much potential to generate energy through renewables, including solar and wind sources. Pakistan needs to work on enabling a framework. The international community can then step in to support its efforts in terms of finances and technology
transfers.
Speaking on the occasion a climate science expert and regional lead of Climate Analytics Dr Fahad Saeed said that Pakistan is facing unprecedented impacts of climate change. Pakistan incurred a huge loss of USD 30 billion in the 2022 floods, which is equal to the total annual exports from Pakistan. “This reflects the power of a single climate change event on the country’s fragile economy.” Dr. Fahad Saeed said that vulnerable sections of society in Pakistan will not be able to face the challenges presented by a failure to meet the Paris
Commitment.
The Pakistani government must address climate change challenges to save the vulnerable sections of society, he remarked. Mr. Kashif Salik, Associate Research Fellow at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) apart from pointing to the community-level impacts of the 2022 floods also highlighted the challenges of an unstable economy. He noted that the increase in power bills has amplified
poverty in Pakistan. “Electricity bills are now beyond the capacity of poor
and vulnerable populations. People are unable to mitigate the abrupt financial losses due to floods and natural calamities,” he remarked.
Mr. Salik emphasized the need for more research on the impact of climate change on people’s lives especially for those who live in rural areas. Muhammad Abdul Rafe of Alternative Law Collective (ALC) said Pakistan requires substantial funds to reduce the use of fossil fuels. He noted that shifting away from gas needs funding and financing for infrastructure development. “Our policy web is still weaved around fossil fuel-intensive energy choices. The country is trying to get gas through pipelines from Russia, Iran, and Turkmenistan,” he noted. He emphasized stronger advocacy on renewables as the task ahead for climate action discourse.
Ms. Zeenia Shaukat, Director The Knowledge Forum in her welcome remarks said that due to its vulnerability, Pakistan needs to rethink consumption practices. While Pakistan is a victim of climate change, it is also the 7th largest emitter of Methane in the world and has a pollution ranking of 4 out of 240 countries. There have been growing voices in Pakistan pointing to environmentally damaging policies and actions and limited preparation to deal with climate change. She pointed to the urgent need for a discourse that pushes for a rethink of fossil fuel and a move towards renewables, for ecology and energy security.
The post Experts recommend more reliance on renewables for energy to save
climate: moot told appeared first on PPI News Agency.
