ISLAMABAD
The government-to-government and peer-to-peer cooperation between Pakistan and Denmark for Pakistan’s transition to green energy is moving forward gradually yet steadily and the Danish side has offered all out assistance to the Pakistan government and the stakeholders for achievement of the country’s green energy targets.
In this regard, the Danish energy experts with the facilitation of the Embassy of Denmark in Islamabad have been in constant consultation with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC), Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) and policy makers to share their expertise and provide technical assistance.
Assar Qureshi who is Denmark’s Regional Energy Counsellor for Asia and Nadeem Nawaz, Special Adviser Danish Energy Agency (DEA) during a media interaction termed Pakistan-Denmark cooperation very important to address Pakistan’s energy woes and held if Pakistan achieved its green energy targets such as 30pc energy share from renewables (solar and wind) by 2030—currently it is 4pc—it could overcome most its energy challenges like long hours of power outages, carbon emissions and inflated power bills, etc.
Assar said his job was to look for possible synergies from the Danish side and strategically coordinate the government-to-government programmes across Asia. “I am here to assist Pakistan in the green transition using Danish experiences,” he said.
In Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia the Danish Energy Agency has successfully launched projects that focus on long-term energy planning, integration of renewables, energy system enhancement, energy efficiency, he said adding “in all these areas we have worked for the last many decades in Denmark.”
Pakistan can benefit from the Danish experience and in my view, a long-term and predictable policy framework is important to bring down the cost of renewable energy projects over time and make them more competitive, he said.
Promoting renewable energy projects would not only provide clean energy but it would also provide high-quality jobs, innovation, and industrial development for the socio-economic development of the people, he said.
Assar said, “The Danish energy transition started decades ago, borne out of a necessity for energy independence and security as well as a desire to decarbonize the energy sector. The current burden of expensive energy imports and global geopolitical instability underscores the need for all countries to transition to sustainable and indigenous energy resources”
Nadeem Niwaz who has visited Pakistan a number of times applauded the green framework agreement reached between Pakistan and Denmark in August this year, noted there existed a huge potential in solar country wide as well as wind energy in the wind corridors of Pakistan, which was not only emission-free but also much cheaper than fossil fuel energy and could catapult Pakistan’s renewable energy sector.
To a question, he said, our long-term energy planning methodology is technology neutral, the cheapest energy technologies should be implemented and we should go for the least cost perspective. Solar energy he said comes out at the top in Pakistan from this perspective but you will find wind energy as the next in the energy technology hierarchy.
About Pakistan’s green energy targets he said they were very ambitious as currently, renewables’ share is merely 4 per cent and Pakistan aims to increase it to 30 per cent by 2030. Nadeem said, “I believe that Pakistan can succeed in its green energy transformation if long-term stable and reliable policy frameworks are in place to invest in renewable energy and energy efficient technologies”
Danish Embassy’s Head of Green Growth & Sustainability Maria Ana Petera said the two energy experts were invited to hold meetings with the Pakistani stakeholders including the energy authorities and policy makers, and bring in some of the Danish expertise incl. examples from other countries regarding mitigation and adaptation.
Maria said, “Support for a green transition in Pakistan is the guiding star for our engagement in Pakistan and for deepening and strengthening our collaboration with Pakistan. We see eye to eye on many challenges related to climate change and a green transition and believe that there is a great potential to share our expertise with Pakistani partners in the public and private sector. My role at the Embassy is to develop the opportunities for facilitating a green transition in Pakistan across all the toolbox available to our embassy –be it trade and business integration, development cooperation, political dialogue and climate diplomacy. By working across the traditional silos, we are able to maximize impact. That is exactly what we are trying to do within the energy sector with my colleagues Nadeem and Assar.
