Pakistan Defends Its Choice of Energy Sources

Official electricity reports in Pakistan show that, at the present moment, the country's demand for energy is far from being properly dealt with.

While electricity production revolves somewhere around 9,000 megawatts, the total amount required for local industries and communities to carry on with their usual activities is about 15,000 megawatts.

It thus becomes obvious that, in its current state, the national electricity grid is far from being able to give the country what it needs and that authorities are pressured by the general public to find quick and efficient ways of dealing with this problem.

Therefore, in spite of being considered by most environmentalists one of the most despicable energy sources, coal made its way into Pakistan, where it is regarded as their best solution for dealing with the energy crisis.

According to high officials in Pakistan, neither hydropower, nor natural gas is the thing they could turn to instead of using coal: the former pretty much depends on rainy seasons, whereas the second is quickly diminishing, reports The Guardian.

As well as this, Pakistan's economy cannot really support any kind of investments in developing green energy sources, since it now has its hands full with simply keeping the country afloat.

Dr. Atta ur Rahman, one of Pakistan's most esteemed researchers, argues that the country's current situation compels it to set aside concerns about the natural world and mainly focus on its own well-being, rather than monitor and be ashamed of the amounts of carbon dioxide, sulfur, arsenic, carbon monoxide and mercury its plants and factories release into the atmosphere.

Faced with such strong arguments, environmental activists cannot help but understand where the Pakistan people are coming from and not hold a grudge against them. Instead, perhaps they could try and persuade more developed countries to offer their support to this country, possibly by providing them with the funds needed to jump start green technologies and industries.