Experts urge govt to take action towards sustainability

Say focus on NEVs will be pivotal in decreasing Pakistan's carbon footprint

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KARACHI:

The government should take useful and quick initiatives with the intention of reducing its carbon footprint, such as promoting new energy vehicle (NEV) motorbikes, cars and other heavy vehicles, raising transfer fees of old vehicles via an easy process, revamping broken road infrastructure, imparting training to technicians, as well as encouraging parts vendors and bike assemblers to spearhead a quick localisation, auto sector experts and climate champions said.

Climate Action Centre (CAC) Founder and Director Yasir Husain said, "We should leave electricity generation on the basis of fossil fuel and adopt renewable energy. We should also leave internal-combustion engine (ICE) and go for NEVs to reduce environmental pollution and ensure air quality in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and other main cities of the country."

Petrol and diesel-driven vehicles produce around 60% environmental pollution, while both the industry and power generation sector spawn approximately 40% pollution.

Husain voiced this while talking to The Express Tribune on Friday, ahead of the EV Conference 2024 which will be held here in Karachi today (Saturday), aimed at discussing the future of electric vehicles in the country and their role in sustainable development.

While drawing a difference between Electric Vehicle (EV) and New Energy Vehicle (NEV), Husain noted that EVs are purely electric vehicle bikes, cars, buses, planes, container ship and trains, while NEVs were created on the basis of EV, for example plug-in hybrid and hydrogen cars etc.

Auto Sector Analyst Muhammad Sabir Shaikh stated that to reduce carbon footprint, the government should fix the age limit for each and every bike, car and heavy vehicle (trucks and buses etc) with the intention of removing old vehicles from main cities of the country.

It must raise a transfer fee with various slabs starting from five, 10, 15 and 20 years in order to discourage old vehicles.

The majority of the old vehicles are motorbikes which stand at around 27 million, plying on roads throughout the country. The second and third largest number goes to cars and heavy vehicles respectively. The transfer process of vehicles should be easy, without cuts or kickbacks, actions against vehicles on open letters should be taken.

Furthermore, experts noted that domestically designed EV motorbikes were first introduced in Pakistan in February 2023, but their total number across the country currently barely exceeds 30,000.

The government should give incentives to vendors and assemblers with subsidies and loans in order to implement a uniform design by selecting a single model of EV bikes, while localising parts for vehicles such as the fuel-driven 70cc bike in the local market. This initiative will scale down prices of EVs and encourage bike riders to transform from fuel-driven to EV bikes, they added.

Additionally, the government must impart 15-to-30-day technician trainings to unemployed youths to fix small faults for EV bikes, as it is very difficult to drag an EV motorbike to a showroom from where it was purchased to fix minor faults. If EV technicians were as easily available as gasoline mechanics, motorcyclists would face an easier transition, noted the experts.

Improving road infrastructure will also boost EV bikes in Karachi and the rest of Sindh. Punjab, which already has a superior infrastructure, has seen a higher level of EV bike purchases in comparison to Sindh. For the same reason, China has seen huge successes in its vision towards a more sustainable future through the sale of EVs.