In September 2021, at the United Nations General Assembly, China’s President Xi announced that China would no longer support overseas coal-fired power plants. One of the primary beneficiaries of Chinese public finance in coal has been Pakistan’s energy sector. According to the IEA, between 2015 and 2018, Pakistan’s coal-based generation capacity increased from 148 GWh to 15,930 GWh. Such a ramp up in energy generation capacity was sorely needed. Pakistan faced crippling blackouts, which undermined the investment climate and suppressed industrial output, not to mention energy access concerns
Read MoreRishikesh Bhandary opines that in the run up to COP26 in Glasgow, countries should consider not just meeting the $100 billion climate finance goal but also paying attention to the delivery channels that will be used to supply the funding.
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