ADB likely to help Pakistan under energy transition mechanism

Islamabad : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is likely to buy running Pakistani coal-powered electricity projects and in return install megawatt-to-megawatt renewable energy projects under Energy Transition Mechanism approved in UN Climate Summit COP26.

According to the details shared by the climate change ministry, the Pakistan government has received confirmation that ADB is considering to purchase coal-powered projects and install new projects to ensure clean energy in Pakistan.

An official said ADB has completed a pre-feasibility study that included financial and technical analysis in developing countries as well as regulatory and institutional assessments to validate the concept of Energy Transition Mechanism.

He said that the Energy Transition Mechanism is basically a scalable, collaborative initiative developed in partnership with developing countries that would leverage a market-based approach to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.

“Speeding up the retirement of coal-fired electricity will increase the demand for clean energy by 2-3 times, lowering overall energy generation costs in the long run,” he said.

The official said it would help unlock or 'crowd in' investments in cost-effective renewable generation and support and enable technologies such as smart grids, hydrogen, electric vehicles, and other clean technologies.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam has said that “We have received confirmation that ADB is ready to buy existing coal-powered projects and install new clean energy projects in Pakistan under Energy Transition Mechanism.”

“It will be a ground-breaking initiative that will accelerate the transition from coal to clean energy. It will enable us to reach more ambitious emissions targets than our current commitments,” he said.

He said “The mechanism is an attempt to accelerate the transition from coal to clean energy in Southeast Asia, in a just and affordable manner. It involves public and private finance to reduce coal-fired power generation by closing younger coal plants”.