Zubair Qureshi
Caretaker Minister for Energy, Muhammad Ali while addressing a ‘Green Christmas’ reception hosted by Ambassador Jakob Linulf of Denmark at his residence said there were exciting times ahead for Pakistan as the country was going to experience tremendous growth.
He committed an increase in share of renewables (wind, solar and biomass) in Pakistan’s energy mix up to 30pc-35pc (which is currently meager 5pc) in order to fulfill those energy needs in coming days.
Since we are energy deficient, we are headed towards a scenario where the country will be adding a lot of capacity going forward, he said. “There will be a lot more energy compared to what we have today because we need industry to grow and most of it will come from renewables and climate friendly energies,” said the minister.
The minister who has recently returned from the Dubai COP28 summit said Pakistan valued Denmark’s support in Pakistan’s green transition as it is the world leader.
While sharing his firsthand experience of COP28 he said he along with his team was impressed to see enormous development achieved in the green energy sector—the technologies, the investment and the funding and above all the associations that have been created around the world. Pakistan he said also looks forward to working on a lot more climate-friendly technologies on similar patterns.
“We contribute less than 1pc of global carbon emission,” he said, quoting the World Bank’s statistics that 20pc of Pakistan’s population doesn’t have proper electricity.
He invited the business and investment companies in green energy to invest in Pakistan. We shall facilitate them in opening offices and provide an enabling environment, he assured.
Earlier, in his address, Ambassador Jakob Linulf welcomed the guests at the ‘Green Christmas’ reception. Denmark, he said, has completed its green transition and created an energy sector that is based on green sources—wind, sunshine, biomass and water.
