KARACHI: Experts have warned against the harmful economic and environmental impacts of the government's move to produce energy by changing coal to gas (CTG) and coal to liquid (CTL). They said it would also increase Pakistan's reliance on fossil fuels.

They advised the government to look at the experience of other countries which have used CTG and CTL technologies and include the lessons learnt from there in its policies.

The speakers at a webinar, organized by the Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy (ACJCE), shared the findings of their studies on economic and environmental viability of Pakistan's intention to use domestic coal for the production of gas, diesel and fertilizers.

Simon Nicholas, an energy finance analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said the CTG and CTL proposals came as the coal-fired power was already contributing to ballooning capacity payments, accelerating the building up of the circular debt.

He said that the water-intensive technologies to be used for CTG and CTL processes would be inappropriate in a water stressed region like Thar.

Haneea Isaad, an energy research associate at the Rural Development Policy Institute (RDPI), said the cost of electricity could go up almost by Rs10/KWh for diesel-based generation and by Rs2/KWh for gas-fired power production.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021