Muneeb ur Rehman

Investment in clean technology offers better outcomes that can help Pakistan achieve its sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030 with the support of the United Nations, said Qasim Shah, Deputy Executive Director of Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). Talking to WealthPK, he said clean technology alone is directly related to many of the targets that Pakistan has pledged to achieve at the international forum. “Investment in clean technology is instrumental in achieving the 7th goal of SDGs, which is linked to affordable and clean energy,” he said.

"Affordable and clean energy can be produced only through major investments in clean technology. Today, Pakistan relies on imported fuel to meet its energy demands. Dependence on the imported fossil fuels results in greater greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions and higher per unit price of energy”. “Here it is important to mention that the total share of renewable energy in electricity production is around 5%. Pakistan has pledged to increase its share to 20% by 2025 and 30% by 2030.’’

Qasim Shah told WealthPK that clean energy is likely to increase affordability. The initial cost of clean technology may be high but once functional, it can be accessed and utilized at reasonable prices. Highlighting the role of clean technology in other sustainable development goals, he said, "The 14th and 15th sustainable development goals focus on life on land and below water. Today, due to higher greenhouse gas emissions, phenomena like global warming are posing a threat to biodiversity. Clean technology used in solar and wind energy production is helpful in reducing climate change and eventually in the preservation of biodiversity".

With regard to the bottlenecks in adopting clean technology, he said that the falling reserves are causing a great stress to the importers of machinery used in the production of clean energy. “It is time to redirect the CPEC projects more towards clean energy in collaboration with local private investors. The government needs to incentivize the private sector to invest in clean technology through a well-informed policy framework,” he said. Pakistan ranks 125th out of 163 countries in terms of progress made towards achieving sustainable development goals. To better perform in future, investment in clean technology offers a wide array of opportunities.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk