By Muhammad Mudassar

ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (INP-WealthPK): The first phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor focused primarily on infrastructure and energy projects, but these endeavours had an impact on the Pakistan’s environment.

The second phase of the multibillion-dollar project aims at bringing an industrial revolution in Pakistan in a way that there is very less impact on the country’s environment. So, the CPEC is aiming to become a greener initiative.

According to Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, developing a sustainable environment goes hand in hand with developing a sustainable economy. The right to development is a basic human right that leads to the right to pursue a better quality of life, which boosts progress, industrialisation, creation of jobs and building of the country’s infrastructure. At the same time, there is also a right to a clean and green environment. These factors are without any doubt essential for the quality of human life and the sustainability of civilisations over the long-run.

The CPEC is the centerpiece of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which was proposed by China in 2013, themed on green development.

The Chinese government has announced that it will no longer finance coal-fired power plants as part of its plan to reduce carbon emissions.

According to Qaiser Aijaz, an energy and environmental consultant, the Pakistani government should be extremely proactive in its approach to the CPEC energy projects and make sure that they are both economically and environmentally viable.

Pakistan should organise roundtable conferences, where energy experts, representatives of non-governmental organisations and power companies can thrash out a plan to deal with environmental issues arising out of the projects, particularly in the energy sector.

Pakistan should aim for increasing the share of solar power in the energy mix in the coming years and should make every effort to cut reliance on the imported fuels to power its electricity-generation plants as it will put the country on the path to realising green energy potential and free it of the stranglehold of the balance of payment crisis due to rising import bill.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk