Today, the word in general and Pakistan in particular face oblique energy scenario. The gap between energy supply and demand has, disproportionately, increased.
Depletion in energy resources has reached a dangerous level. Caused by huge energy consumption, environmental degradation is threatening the life on earth. Geo-political conflicts have added further fuel to the fire. Lack of commitment to seek alternative sources of energy has further increased perplexities of the matter. The growth of emerging economies and increase in their demand for energy has made the world scared of energy shortages. Oil crises have risen to record breaking level. Load-shedding have become a daily routine.
Since long, the fear of nuclear war has been an obstacle in the peaceful usage of nuclear energy. To make matters worse, extraction of energy from renewable sources has been ignored. In short, the world looks to have been trapped in the web of energy deficit.
On the other hand, the importance of energy is much that without it all human activity would come to a halt because it is the energy that moves the wheel of the word economy. A nation’s socio-political uplift and progress is measured by the amount of energy it consumes. Briefly, the entire human life is dependent on energy consumption. From domestic uses to industrial, it is energy that matters. Any failure in supply or exploration of its resources puts human life in a shambles. All activities from cooking to the production of refined goods and from household to space missions will come to a standstill in the absence of energy.
Depletion, on a large scale has taken place in fossil fuel. Oil, coal and gas resources are declining. The existing resources are unable to meet the current world needs. Consequently, Malthusian disaster is imminent.
Besides, depletion and over population, there are other reasons which are responsible for straining energy resources. Among many, failure to explore more reserves or lack of commitment to do so is notable. Efforts made in this regard have often been blocked or otherwise abandoned by states due to geo-political consequences. For instance, the western nations have turned a blind eye to the minerals present in the Third World countries. Similarly, Iraq has huge reserves of oil and gas, but due to political conflicts and strategic goals, the world community has failed to exploit them purposefully.
Likewise, Iran and Afghanistan face the same dilemma. The oil and gas of the central Asian states remain un-explored. War on terror, deadlocks with Iran skirmishes between the Hizbollah and Israel and Iranian threats of blocking the strait of Hermuz, all have had profound impact on oil markets.
The international market, today, is facing the emergence of new economies of India and China whose unexpected growth has also created problems in energy circles. Their over production requires more than the expected amount of energy. The present available sources fail to satiate their energy appetite effectively.
The gulf between demand and supply of energy has been further widened by terrorist acts in the oil producing countries. The world stocks, day by day, are experiencing falls. Situation in Algeria has adversely affected the world economy. Conflicts in the Arabian Peninsula have also exacerbated the situation. Whether, it is the Iranian nuclear issue or the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, Palestinian imbroglio or security of Israel and Gulf States all have pushed the oil market to the verge of collapse.
Nationalization of River Nile, the oil embargo of 1970s and imperialist ambitions of the major powers had paralyzed the energy security. For making other states dependent, the West and nations of the OPEC got engaged in the struggle for energy domination. It resulted in deprivation of smaller states.
In order to get rid of energy dilemma, some of the small states tried to gain nuclear energy. Under the safeguards of IAEA, they achieved access to nuclear energy, but, again, fear of nuclear proliferation and use of nuclear energy for war purposes proved to be major roadblocks. Accordingly, Pakistan, Libya, Iran and North Korea had to face tough economic and trade sanctions for violating the rules of International Atomic Energy Agency. Particularly, the Iranian access was denied to global market and the country’s oil and gas still remain unutilized.
Besides this peril, nuclear energy and fossil fuel are not environment friendly. They cause serious damages to the atmosphere. It is feared that if pollution by consumption of energy continued with the current rate, surface of the earth will become uninhabitable after a few decades. Thus the environmental hazardousness also necessitates the reduction in using carbon emitting fuels. Coyoto protocol is aimed at decreasing carbon emission and seeking friendly environment sources of energy.
Alternatively, renewable resources are deemed fit to fill the vacuum. European Union’s directive of the last September is significant in this regard. It seeks promotion of electricity production from renewable resources. Electricity can also be produced from solar and wind energy. The conditions in Europe, American and Asia are conducive for bringing into use wind and solar energy. Hydro power is another cheap available source of energy. Efforts are being made to build more and more dams. This way, the world could meet energy requirements without harming the environment.
Pakistan is facing the same odds. The country is passing through the most turbulent era of its history. Along with political and economic problems, energy crisis is the worst. Oil process are sky rocketing. Load-shedding has become a headache for people. Oil supply is short. Biogas is used at minimum. Electricity production has been converted from hydro power to coal. The domestic resources fail to cope with the prevailing crisis. Renewable resources are not being utilized, while the fossil fuel is scarce in the country.
Against this backdrop, Pakistan fulfils its energy requirements through imports. About 80 per cent of the fossil fuel is imported. This means that Pakistan has become entirely dependent for energy on foreign countries. Now, as the world is no longer supplying, the state is in trouble. Not only imports, but the conversion of electricity production from hydro power, coal and gas is also costly. Another problem highlighted by economists is that the growth rate at which the country is meeting its energy needs. During the last decade, Pakistan has achieved a growth rate of six per cent. The population of the country has unimaginably increased. Transportation and industrial sectors have expanded accordingly.
At this juncture, if alternative sources of energy are not sought, Pakistan would have to face serious repercussions. The country’s economic machinery will be jammed. Social inequalities and injustices will be frequent. Political crises will continue to hit our country.
To avoid these predicaments, the government will have to reduce foreign dependency for energy security. Domestic resources should be mobilized for exploration of fossil resources inside the country. Adequate monitory policy should be made to avoid mismanagement of resources. Efforts should also be made to use renewable resources. Usage of gas can be increased. Hydro-power must be used for electricity production. Within the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, nuclear energy can also be utilized for energy purposes.