ISLAMABAD, June 23 (Alliance News): Speakers at a seminar in Karachi has criticized the World Bank for worsening Pakistan’s energy sector by financing basic fossil gas and LNG infrastructure in recent years.
According to all the experts who participated in the seminar organized by Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy have termed Pakistan’s shift to fossil gas as a costly mistake which has resulted in disproportionate and unbalanced import of LNG.
He played a key role in forcing the country to rely heavily on G.
Speaking at the seminar, Franwitt, a senior adviser to Advocacy Group Records, said there was enough scientific evidence to prove and disprove that fossil gas was not the fuel for “transition” to cleaner energy systems.
Explaining this, he said that the reason is that fossil gas is also a major source of carbon emissions like coal and investment in fossil gas has reduced funding for environmentally friendly, renewable energy projects. Is happening
He added that plans to expand Asia’s basic gas infrastructure are one of the biggest threats to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and avoiding the devastating effects of the climate change crisis. The World Bank should not pursue such a dangerous strategy.
Seminar participants Haniya Asad of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), M. Abdul Rafi of Alternative La Claito and Zain Molvi elaborated on a number of gas projects run in collaboration with the World Bank. As a result, Pakistan’s transition to clean and environmentally friendly energy is now in jeopardy.
Citing one such project as an example, the speakers said that the International Finance Corporation, a private sector arm of the World Bank, had built the country’s first LNG in 2015 with approximately 6 64.5 million in funding for Engro Corporation. Financed the construction of G-Terminal.
The project was part of a strategy by the World Bank Group and the IFC to invest up to 10 10 billion to address power shortages in Pakistan.
Zain Maulvi said that if the investment made in this project had been made to assist in the transition to renewable energy, the country would have benefited from the provision of clean and reliable energy today.
“Fossil gas is fundamentally and permanently unreliable and unsustainable in terms of supply,” he said.
Today, about half of the LNG used in the country is procured from the spot market, which forces the country to pay exorbitant prices.
The rise in global gas prices is due to its shortage in Europe, which has pushed Asian LNG prices to record levels.
Work is still underway on the expansion of LNG projects in the country after the initial financial assistance from the World Bank, which has further increased Pakistan’s dependence on imports.
Apart from Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline, 2 floating storage regasification units are still under planning.
In addition, another Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Project is in the process of completion in 2021 with a life cycle of 30 years.
He said consumers were worried that the power plant could turn into another unprofitable asset which could lead to further rise in electricity and gas prices.
The project is being financed through loans from local banks at 75% commercial rate. Among the banks funding the project is Habib Bank Limited which has a track record of lending for fossil fuel projects such as It received about ً 225 million from the World Bank in 2015 for five coal-fired power projects in Thar.