Iqbal highlights Pakistan's energy potential

Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has said Pakistan has huge potential to produce respectively 30,000 megawatts and 3 billion megawatts of renewable energy from wind and solar but it need to mobilize private and public finance to realize that potential.

"The federal government is working on five important pillars to ensure Pakistan's transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy," Iqbal said on Sunday while speaking at the start of the second day of Asia Energy Transition Summit 2024 at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

The two-day event was organized by LUMS in collaboration with Pakistan Renewable Energy Coalition (PREC), a conglomerate of research institutions, civil society organizations and just energy transition activists.

"These pillars include a framework for innovation, to find technology-based solutions, mobilization of finances through previously untapped or non-existing sources such as an Asia energy transition fund; policy harmonization not just within Pakistan but across Asia; regional collaboration and the development of integrated energy markets across Asia; and ensuring a just energy transition," Iqbal said.

Senator Sherry Rehman also stressed the need for mobilizing finance for tackling the twin challenges of climate change and energy transition. She recounted some of her experiences when she was working as the federal minister for climate change in 2022-23 and highlighted the opportunities and obstacles that Pakistan faces while trying to mobilize international finance.