PAKISTAN contributes less than one per cent of global emissions to the phenomenon of climate change that is affecting weather patterns across the world. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Pakistan has coastal belts with a consumable potential of generating 50,000MW of electricity through wind turbines alone.

Pakistan produces a large amount of municipal waste, approximately 50,000 tons per day, in the form of livestock dung, solid waste, rice husk and cotton stick, with an exploitable potential of converting waste into 5,000MW of power.

As a matter of fact, we have sunlight in abundance with an average of nine-and-a-half hours of sunlight daily which needs to be converted into solar energy on a large scale.

In addition, the government should take this tremendous opportunity to transform such abundant resources into power which would be enough to at least meet the local demand.

Besides, the government should encourage young entrepreneurs to work on innovative ideas about converting natural resources into power and also support the private sector in producing energy through alternative and renewable sources.

Alternative and renewable energy resources need to be utilised in a way that helps out and contributes to the economic development of the nation.

Farhan Ahmed Memon
Jamshoro

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2021