Sustainable Development Policy Institute Joint Executive Director Vaqar Ahmed says that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) offers a vital opportunity to diversify Pakistan’s energy mix and promote green investments at an SDPI seminar in Islamabad this week.
According to Amed, Pakistan needs to capitalize on Chinese private sector investments to enhance renewable energy share, improve energy access, and reduce dependence on imported fuels.
“Chinese stakes in global renewable investments are high and its stance on green investment signals for sustainable development and clean energy are providing multiple opportunities for Pakistan under the CPEC. The role of the Chinese private sector in expediting the uptake of renewable energy in Pakistan is crucial as the private sector holds an important position,” says Ahmed.
The Pakistan Government’s aims to generate 60 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. To this end, Ahmed urges the private sector to fund green energy projects.
“One of the private sector’s primary functions is to extend green financing to sustainable industries at competitive interest rates, facilitating the mitigation of environmental challenges. It also possesses the capability to fund the development of renewable energy projects, which would help in advancing Pakistan’s energy transition,” says Ahmed.
CPEC Executive Director Mustafa Hyder Sayed agrees, arguing that after the successful completion of the first phase of the CPEC with energy and infrastructure projects being the highlights, the next phase of the CPEC would revolve around green and eco-friendly investments ensuring carbon-intensive development.
“Pakistan can learn from China’s best practices in renewable energy. As the single largest corridor of energy investments in Pakistan, the CPEC is key to scaling up renewable energy investments in the country,” says Sayed.
According to Senior Energy Advisor Noorul Arifeen Zuberi, there needs to be more focus on the growth of Pakistan’s renewable industry under the CPEC special economic zones and suggested that a joint working group between China and Pakistan would be critical in this regard.
“Special economic zones are designated areas across Pakistan that have additional facilities and lucrative benefits to local and international industrial investors with tax incentives, infrastructure support, and simplified investment procedures. Relocation for the Chinese solar panel industry to Pakistan is a lifetime opportunity for Chinese and Pakistani investors due to abundant raw material, cheap labour, special zones, one window business facility and other benefits,” says Zuberi.
Launched in 2013, the CPEC, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is a corridor linking the Gwadar Port in southwest Pakistan’s Balochistan province with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport, and industrial cooperation in the first phase, while in the new phase expands to fields of agriculture and livelihood et al.
