Muhammad Mudassar

Pakistan generates most of electricity from imported fossil fuels, which not only shaves a sizable chunk off the hard-earned foreign exchange, but also contributes to environmental pollution, reports WealthPK. According to the Ministry of Energy and Power Division, around 61 percent of electricity is generated from thermal power, 24 percent from hydropower, 12 percent from nuclear power, and just 3 percent from renewable energy (RE), though the country has enormous renewable energy resources.

According to the Ministry of Climate Change, Pakistan’s carbon emissions increased from 76,250kt (kiloton) in 1994 to 164,130kt in 2015. These emissions are projected to increase by about 300 percent by 2030. The energy (and everything connected) and agriculture sectors account for about 90pc of total emissions. Coal is the single largest contributor to carbon emissions and the second largest thermal source of power generation. The 2010 flood, triggered by climate change, devasted Pakistan and its economy, killing 1,985 people and inundating 17,553 villages over an area of 160,000 square kilometers. A total of 21 million people were affected.

Currently, 110 out of 154 districts stand submerged. Around 1,350 people have been killed and thousands injured. Around 33 million people (50m according to unofficial tallies) have been affected, which is approximately one in seven people. About 900,000 livestock have been lost, and more than two million acres of farmland and 90 percent of crops damaged. In some provinces, cotton and rice crops, date trees, and sugarcane have almost been destroyed. Half of the onion, chili, and tomato crops and all staple foods have been damaged.

According to Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, the country has suffered losses of over $40 billion. The federal government estimates put the loss to the agriculture sector at over $1.6 billion. A representative of Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation (Passco) informed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Food Security recently that an estimated Rs4 billion worth of wheat stock has been damaged by the floods in Sindh and Balochistan. Although Pakistan contributes less than 1% to global warming, it is the eighth most vulnerable nation to climate crisis according to the Global Climate Risk Index.

According to the government, the country has the potential to generate 3.4 million MW energy from indigenous resources including 60,000MW hydropower, 346,000MW wind power, 2,900,000MW solar power, 2,000MW bagasse cogeneration, and 100,000MW coal power. In view of the massive devastation caused by floods, the need of the hour is to optimize the clean and green energy sources [hydel, solar, and wind]. Building more dams will not only help save water for agriculture and other purposes all year round, but also generate cheap electricity and minimize destruction from floods.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk