Pakistan's research on renewable energy has been hit by lack of funds, forcing it to import green technologies
Saleem Shaikh for SciDev
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 July 2011 15.39 BST
Pakistan's research on renewable energy has been severely hit by a lack of funds, experts say, forcing it to look abroad to import green technologies.
The country will aim to boost technology transfer from China and Germany for solar panels and wind turbines, and attract more investment for research and development (R&D), according to its five-year policy on renewable energy, which will be launched in August by the Alternative Energy Development Board.
Pakistan already has plans to generate 2,300 megawatts (MW) of electricity from solar and wind sources under an agreement signed last year (19 December) with China's Wind Electric.
But some experts say that importing technology is only a short-term fix and that the government should invest more in developing local technologies.
"The funding in renewable energy technology research by the government of Pakistan is close to nothing," said Masood Ahmed, head of the Sustainable Development Research Centre at the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology.
There is a "serious need" for government funding to tap into the country's huge potential in the sector and "resolve the deepening power crisis in Pakistan", he said.
The main power resources in Pakistan are oil and gas, but reserves of both are expected to have run out by 2030, according to the state-owned Oil and Gas Development Company, and the country already faces an energy shortfall.
"Previous and present governments have shown that they are only interested in short-term solutions to the present energy crisis, as reflected in mere imports of renewable energy technology," said Ahmed.
This shows that strengthening research in Pakistan's renewable energy sector is not high on the government's agenda, he added.
Pakistan's universities have run pilot projects in areas such as fuel cells, biodiesel, ethanol fuel, innovative lighting systems, fuel cells for vehicles and biogas.
But they lack the funds to continue their research and roll out the technologies, according to Arshad Abbasi, water and energy advisor at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
The new policy will set a target of generating five per cent of Pakistan's total commercial energy from alternative and renewable energy sources by 2030.
It will offer financial incentives for projects including a manufacturing base for renewable energy plants and components, and will seek to develop the infrastructure for renewable energy programmes with help from the Asian Development Bank and the US Agency for International Development.
Friday, 8 July 2011
Shelving of energy bill shows government is not serious about its green agenda
Delay means that the 'green deal' – the centrepiece of David Cameron's climate change policy – has been sidelined
Meg Hillier
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 July 2011 12.19 BST
The government's energy bill, which was expected to be debated before parliament's summer break, has been shelved. That means the "green deal", the flagship scheme to cut domestic carbon emissions, will not make it onto the statute books for many months. Ministers at the Department for Energy and Climate Change (Decc) have lost their argument with the government's business managers, and the centrepiece of climate change policy has been sidelined.
We should not be surprised. This government has form in delay and dither when it comes to its green policy agenda. There was so much promise. The "greenest government ever" was the prime minister's pledge. That's the same PM who has not mentioned green issues since the election. When asked questions on petrol prices or energy bills he does not ever venture into the wider discussion about a greener, cleaner world. And since Chris Huhne was appointed as climate and energy secretary we have seen promises delayed and initiatives re-announced so often it's not surprising if you've lost count.
The green deal itself was so light on detail that two weeks before the bill was published it had more holes than a golf course. Better preparation and more information before the bill was published would have allowed greater scrutiny and influence from outside parliament which could only have improved the legislation. It needs improving – no targets, poor consumer protection and many unanswered questions even after being debated in both Houses of Parliament. In the bill's committee Labour members offered endless suggestions for ways to beef up the bill, but all were rejected by ministers.
The green investment bank was announced or imminent a number of times since last summer, finally being promised in the March budget but with the detail only arriving later in spring. Ministers seemed to believe each time it really was about to be announced. Clearly they could not do so without the chancellor's say-so. As we approach the end of term, the government still has to allow time to debate the five national policy statements (NPS) on energy and the white paper on electricity market reform. Neither has a date scheduled yet, with only one remaining sitting day left.
The fact that the green deal is not going to make it to the statute books marks a personal failure for Huhne. He has staked his reputation on this market-driven home energy efficiency model. His claim that it will transform the energy efficiency of our homes (which represent around 27% of emissions nationally) and create thousands of green jobs up and down the country is fizzling away. In the corridors of Whitehall and within the machinery of government, it appears that Huhne has little clout as a Lib Dem in a Tory government. The earliest it could now become law is in September. Then there are around 50 pieces of secondary legislation to get through.
The reality is that the government is not serious about its green agenda. In recent weeks they have scrapped the zero-carbon homes scheme, abandoned plans for a network of electric car charging stations, and now delayed the green deal. A recent survey of readers of the ConservativeHome website named the green deal as one of their most disappointing policies. Only Decc ministers within government ever talk about climate change. As we see from this turn of events, that is just hot air.
• Meg Hillier MP is the shadow energy secretary
Meg Hillier
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 July 2011 12.19 BST
The government's energy bill, which was expected to be debated before parliament's summer break, has been shelved. That means the "green deal", the flagship scheme to cut domestic carbon emissions, will not make it onto the statute books for many months. Ministers at the Department for Energy and Climate Change (Decc) have lost their argument with the government's business managers, and the centrepiece of climate change policy has been sidelined.
We should not be surprised. This government has form in delay and dither when it comes to its green policy agenda. There was so much promise. The "greenest government ever" was the prime minister's pledge. That's the same PM who has not mentioned green issues since the election. When asked questions on petrol prices or energy bills he does not ever venture into the wider discussion about a greener, cleaner world. And since Chris Huhne was appointed as climate and energy secretary we have seen promises delayed and initiatives re-announced so often it's not surprising if you've lost count.
The green deal itself was so light on detail that two weeks before the bill was published it had more holes than a golf course. Better preparation and more information before the bill was published would have allowed greater scrutiny and influence from outside parliament which could only have improved the legislation. It needs improving – no targets, poor consumer protection and many unanswered questions even after being debated in both Houses of Parliament. In the bill's committee Labour members offered endless suggestions for ways to beef up the bill, but all were rejected by ministers.
The green investment bank was announced or imminent a number of times since last summer, finally being promised in the March budget but with the detail only arriving later in spring. Ministers seemed to believe each time it really was about to be announced. Clearly they could not do so without the chancellor's say-so. As we approach the end of term, the government still has to allow time to debate the five national policy statements (NPS) on energy and the white paper on electricity market reform. Neither has a date scheduled yet, with only one remaining sitting day left.
The fact that the green deal is not going to make it to the statute books marks a personal failure for Huhne. He has staked his reputation on this market-driven home energy efficiency model. His claim that it will transform the energy efficiency of our homes (which represent around 27% of emissions nationally) and create thousands of green jobs up and down the country is fizzling away. In the corridors of Whitehall and within the machinery of government, it appears that Huhne has little clout as a Lib Dem in a Tory government. The earliest it could now become law is in September. Then there are around 50 pieces of secondary legislation to get through.
The reality is that the government is not serious about its green agenda. In recent weeks they have scrapped the zero-carbon homes scheme, abandoned plans for a network of electric car charging stations, and now delayed the green deal. A recent survey of readers of the ConservativeHome website named the green deal as one of their most disappointing policies. Only Decc ministers within government ever talk about climate change. As we see from this turn of events, that is just hot air.
• Meg Hillier MP is the shadow energy secretary
Europe 'falling behind' in green investment race
Research shows green investment in Europe dropped by one-fifth in 2010 while developing countries surge ahead
Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 July 2011 17.56 BST
Europe is in danger of falling behind in the green investment race, new research shows, after a bumper year for renewable energy around the world.
Last year, green investment surged by one-third to a record $211bn (£132bn), with a huge boost coming from investment in China, particularly in windfarms. Almost $50bn of the total came from China, an increase of more than one-quarter on 2009, confirming the country as the world's green energy powerhouse.
Growth was also strong in other parts of the developing world, including India and Latin America. In Europe, by contrast, financial sector investment dropped by one-fifth to $35bn. However, the headline figure masks a brighter picture when it comes to small
scale renewables in Europe, particularly solar power in Germany.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the authors of the report that was commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme, said: "One of the most striking features of 2010 was that in terms of financial new investment – incorporating asset finance, venture capital, private equity and investment through public stock markets – developing countries overtook developed economies for the first time." Such investment amounted to $72bn in developing countries and $70bn in the industrialised world.
Connie Hedegaard, Europe's climate chief, has called for a much greater proportion of the EU's budget to be devoted to climate related spending, which would help Europe retain some of its edge in the rapidly growing green economy.
Hedegaard called for at least 20% of the EU's budget to be spent on
climate-related issues in future, to foster green technology, help cut
emissions and help deal with the damaging effects of climate change.
She said: "This significant increase reflects that it is a key political
priority for Europe to tackle climate change by transforming Europe into a clean, competitive low-carbon economy. But it also marks a paradigm shift."
Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 July 2011 17.56 BST
Europe is in danger of falling behind in the green investment race, new research shows, after a bumper year for renewable energy around the world.
Last year, green investment surged by one-third to a record $211bn (£132bn), with a huge boost coming from investment in China, particularly in windfarms. Almost $50bn of the total came from China, an increase of more than one-quarter on 2009, confirming the country as the world's green energy powerhouse.
Growth was also strong in other parts of the developing world, including India and Latin America. In Europe, by contrast, financial sector investment dropped by one-fifth to $35bn. However, the headline figure masks a brighter picture when it comes to small
scale renewables in Europe, particularly solar power in Germany.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the authors of the report that was commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme, said: "One of the most striking features of 2010 was that in terms of financial new investment – incorporating asset finance, venture capital, private equity and investment through public stock markets – developing countries overtook developed economies for the first time." Such investment amounted to $72bn in developing countries and $70bn in the industrialised world.
Connie Hedegaard, Europe's climate chief, has called for a much greater proportion of the EU's budget to be devoted to climate related spending, which would help Europe retain some of its edge in the rapidly growing green economy.
Hedegaard called for at least 20% of the EU's budget to be spent on
climate-related issues in future, to foster green technology, help cut
emissions and help deal with the damaging effects of climate change.
She said: "This significant increase reflects that it is a key political
priority for Europe to tackle climate change by transforming Europe into a clean, competitive low-carbon economy. But it also marks a paradigm shift."