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Abstracts
Panel: Responding to Climate Change in South Asia
An analysis of Pakistan’s renewable energy policy framework
Climate Change Induced Floods in Pakistan
Encouraging Green Housing in Pakistan
An analysis of Pakistan’s renewable energy policy framework
Waqas Bin Najib*
Theme
Alternate energy in Pakistan
Objectives
The objective of the paper is to critically analyse the renewable energy policy framework in Pakistan and identify the policy barriers and issues and suggest improvements for the development and promotion of renewable energy technologies in the energy mix of Pakistan.
Selected sources of data
- Renewable energy policy documents of Pakistan
- Wind energy development in Pakistan, U.K. Mirza et.al., Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 11, 2007
- Renewable energy policy options for mountain communities: experiences from China, India, Nepal and Pakistan, K. Rijal, Renewable Energy 16, 1999
- Prospects for secure and sustainable energy supply for Pakistan, T. Muneer, M. Asif, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 11, 2007
- Policy alternatives in reforming energy utilities in developing countries, A. Gabriele, Energy Policy, 32, 2004
This paper critically analyses in detail the short-term and medium-term renewable energy (RE) policy documents in Pakistan and draws parallels with successful policy instruments in other developing and developed countries. The paper will examine the outcomes and results of the RE policy and try to identify the shortcomings. Various policy instruments and offered tariff regime will also be discussed. The paper will mainly focus on wind power projects as other technologies received less focus for grid connected power generation in Pakistan. Distributed power generation and rural electrification programmes will also be examined under the same policy and lessons will be drawn for future policy interventions. The paper will also present a comparative analysis of the renewable energy policies in the South Asian region.
*Waqas Bin Najib is an expert in energy technologies and has been working in the area of renewable energy for the past many years. He has worked with leading research institutes in Europe and various international organisations in climate change mitigation and emission reduction projects.
Climate Change Induced Floods in Pakistan
Anusha Sherazi* and Uzaira Rafiq**
Climate Change and its consequent impacts are having a devastating effect throughout the world. The earth’s average temperature has been recorded to be around 0.76oC since 1850 while year 2010 has been recorded to be the warmest year after 1998. Pakistan on the other hand has been recorded to have one of the highest temperatures in the world in 2010, 53.5 °C (128.3 °F) on 26th May, 2010, Mohenjo-daroo, Sindh. This was also the hottest temperature ever recorded in the continent of Asia and the fourth highest ever measured on planet earth. This unusual temperature also caused record-breaking rain of up to 620 millimetres in Islamabad within 10 hours, the most that has ever been recorded in the last 100 years. According to the estimates of Pakistan meteorological department, heavy rainfalls of more than 200 millimetres were (7.9 in) recorded during the four day wet spell of July 27 to July 30 in 2010 in Pakistan. These intensive rains due to climate change caused great destruction and flooded all four provinces of Pakistan from 2010 mid July till mid August, overflowing the dams, rivers and lakes and killing at least 2,000 people and affecting 21 million people. The flood has altogether affected around one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area, which includes around 36 districts. Hence the floods have altogether shattered the infrastructure of various areas of the country. Immediate mitigation and adaptation measures are required to be taken for climate change induced flood incidents, which are expected to also occur in the future.
 *Anusha Sherazi has graduated from the Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatimah Jinnah Women University; and is presently conducting several researches on climate change impacts, mitigations and adaptation.
 **Dr.Uzaira Rafiq is a Ph.D in Polymer Chemistry from Quaid-e-Azam University and presently she is the Chairperson, Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women Univeristy, Rawalpindi.
Encouraging Green Housing in Pakistan
Javeriya Hasan*
Pakistan is currently facing an energy crisis that has been fuelled by an incredible growth in electricity consumption. Efforts are underway to encourage alternative sources of energy generation so as to reduce the generation - consumption deficit. These resources range from coal to wind, solar and geothermal. Despite the fact that Pakistan is naturally gifted to harness energy from these sources, their exploitation to date has remained severely limited. It is suggested that Pakistan’s energy woes can be rectified by adopting a diversified approach entailing the strategy of energy conservation. Traditionally energy intensive sectors should be targeted, and due attention to improvisations in these sectors can also help bridge the current energy deficit of 5000MW. The consumption of the domestic sector for the year 2007-08 stood at 33,704 GWh, constituting 45 per cent of Pakistan’s total consumption. A major chunk of the energy expended is in construction processes, in addition to the heating and cooling of buildings in urban areas, etc. The objective of this paper is, therefore, to explore energy conservation by means of encouraging energy efficient buildings in Pakistan’s housing industry.
A commitment to reduce energy consumption in buildings is a sustainable way to approach economic development in Pakistan[1]. An energy efficient building not only increases occupancy levels but also brings monetary benefits that accrue from improved living conditions. The stages of its planning, design, construction and management are very meticulous, whereby the lifecycle costs of the building are calculated in accordance with the construction materials, site, transport links and so on. The recent approval to develop a Building Energy Code for Pakistan is positive news for the country’s housing sector. The paper will examine the relevant legislations that stipulate the importance of incorporating energy efficiency to existing buildings and make it binding upon developers to design new buildings according to set ‘green’ standards (LEED, BREEAM etc), and the need for collating information and knowledge for the publication of local standards. Furthermore, the financial ramifications of revamping the housing sector, in terms of retrofitting, would also be gauged. The paper would propose a framework according to which energy efficient buildings can be promoted in Pakistan, particularly focusing on the potential of collaboration between developers, planners, consultants, contractors and the authorities.
*Javeriya Hasan is a Research Assistant with SDPI and has career interests in green building. She has a Masters in Structural Steel Design and Sustainable Development from Imperial College, London.
1 Shiers, D.E., 2000. “Green Developments” Environmentally responsible buildings in the UK commercial property sector. Property Management Vol. 18 No.5.
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