Moving towards Low Carbon Economy- Pakistan Perspective

IntroductionWorld is facing the grave challenges as a result of global warming, change in natural landscape, ecosystem, topography and climate. These changes are projected to result in more droughts, floods and reduction of water availability. Apart form that weakening of carbon removal by terrestrial ecosystem, unpredictable food production, coastal erosion, sea level rise, increase in sea surface temperature (1-30C) and resulting coral mortality has been projected by the scientific community. In 2004, annual Carbon dioxide emissions in Pakistan were 0.125669 (in million tons) and 0.81 (tons) of carbon dioxide emissions per capita (UNMDGI, 2007). Therefore, Pakistan is also on the verge of the predicted climatic changes and resulting effects mentioned earlier. IPCC prepared six emission scenarios based on economic growth, population growth rate and fragmented technological changes i.e. A1FI, A1T, A1B, A2, B1, and B2 in Annex I. Pakistan appears to fall under B2 scenario. This is due to continuous increase in population, intermediate levels of economic development, less rapid and more fragmented technological change. Furthermore, emphasis on local economic, social and environmental stability solutions is also responsible in Pakistan. With a likely range of 1.4 to 3.8 °C projected temperature rise for Pakistan following under B2 scenario is estimated to be 2.4 °C. Sea level rise is expected to be [20 to 43 cm] (8 to 17 inches) (IPCC, 2007).


Sectoral Classification of Sources of Green House Gases in Pakistan

Based on guidelines developed by IPCC, GHGs producing sectors in Pakistan are divided into five sectors i.e. energy, industrial processes, agriculture, land-use change and forestry and waste. Major contributor to CO2 emissions is the energy sector, contributing 81% of total CO2 emissions. The forestry and land use change sector accounted for 7% of CO2 emissions, while industrial processes accounted for 12%. The primary source of CH4 emissions in the Pakistan is agriculture sector responsible for 87% of all CH4 emissions, while emissions from fugitive sources and waste management accounted for the remainder of CH4 emissions.



The 81% of N2O emissions also came from the agriculture sector, with the remaining emissions coming from human sewage and the energy sector. NOx emissions can be attributed almost entirely to the energy sector with the transport sector being the major source (PINCCC, 2003).

Net Carbon Release in Pakistan

On one hand Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing but on the other hand CO2 is naturally consumed by forests, soil/vegetation and oceans. This consumption of CO2 somewhat balances its emission. Pakistan net carbon release is 1780.1 kilotonnes, while estimated annual carbon release and uptake are 13,231.2 and 11,451.0 kilotonnes (PINCCC, 2003).



Improvement in Air QualityThe present levels of air pollution have prompted many cities to undertake measures to improve air quality. These measures include the introduction of lead-free petrol and low-sulphur diesel; the introduction of vehicle emission control standards and a mandatory regular vehicle inspection system; the promotion of cleaner fuels like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) for commercial vehicles; the banning and phasing out of certain types of vehicles; restrictions on diesel vehicles; and transport demand management.





Renewable Energy Planning in Pakistan



Despite the development of number of energy policies and plans, the priority accorded to renewable energy in Pakistan remains very low. Whereas acknowledgement of renewable resources as an alternative source of energy has prevailed in most of policy and plan document, little substantive actions has been taken for meaningful development and almost no specific incentives have been offered to encourage the nurturing of full fledged industry based on alternate technologies.

The Pakistan National Conservation Strategy (PNCS), which was approved by GOP in 1992, became a component in Eighth Five Year Plan, provided first all encompassing framework for addressing environmental concerns in the country.



A joint effort at both the Government and Private sector level is needed to meet the up coming challenges. The alternate energy sources are indigenous and can contribute to reduce dependency on energy imports. A little true effort to form a long term policy for the promotion of renewable energies requires across the board initiatives encompassing a wide range of policies pertaining to energy, environment, employment, incentives, taxation relief, competitive return on investment, funding for research and development

Current Interventions for Reduction of Greenhouse Gases in Pakistan

Due to increase in GHGs, economy of Pakistan is under stress. There is a need to formulate policies on national level to combat this situation. One option may be the research on the potential of Carbon sequestration in the country. This can be done by taking initiatives for mitigation including planning and deploying available best technologies to reduce the risks. Public and private collaborative research and development for innovative technologies is also the need of the hour.



For example the mitigation measures for energy sector could be the adoption of renewable energy sources i.e., wind power, solar thermal, waste/biomass, and biofuels and use of nuclear energy by taking safety considerations into account. Emissions from old power plants can be reduced by switching from coal to natural gas. Emission form non-energy sectors can be reduced by promotion of recycling, reuse of waste, limited use of waste incinerators and promotion of plantation to act as sinks.



Similarly, agro-industrial residues can be used for anaerobic conversion into biogas as a good substitute of fossil fuel in power generation. Apart from reduction in Carbon dioxide emission use of agro-industrial residues for biogas production and can also reduce methane emissions by treating the residues in controlled anaerobic system. Injection of CO2 for the enhanced recovery of oils is also being employed by various countries


Fuel Efficiency in Road Transport Sector

ENERCON initiated Fuel Efficiency in Road Transport Sector (FERTS) project to reduce the source emissions of GHGs from the vehicles by improving the fuel consumption efficiency. Vehicle engine tune-up technologies have also been promoted in the country under this initiative.

National Awareness campaign on Energy and Environment Conservation

The project is aimed to promote national energy use in the country by creating awareness on the benefits of efficient use of energy in the country among masses. Different activities have been introduced for promotion of conservation of energy in various sectors of society leading to reduction of emissions of GHGs.

Wind Project

Pakistan’s coastal belt and deserts are blessed with potential of wind energy. The available wind corridor in Pakistan is 60 km wide and 180 km long and has the exploitable potential of 50,000 MW of electricity. Windmills have been installed in the some rural locations in Pakistan on experimental basis for generation of electricity on the micro scale.


Solar Home Systems

Government has approved the installation of solar home systems in Balochistan and Sindh after successful experimental use of solar photovoltaic cell for conversion of solar energy to electricity for lighting, solar concentration cooking and solar water disinfector in the remote areas of the country.

Biomass/Waste to Energy Project

AEDB has conducted the pilot studies of biogas for municipal solid waste and waste water to generate electricity. On the basis of pilot studies it intends to install large scale biogas plant for energy generation in the world with collaboration of New Zealand Aid (NZAID).

Biofuel

Pakistan is an agricultural country and there is an option to generate fuels from organic sources like ethanol waste oils and oil seeds. AEDB has conducted pilot projects for biodiesel production plant installations in Sindh for electrification of villages and use of ethanol as transport fuel.

Conclusion

Pakistan is not expected to be a major player in global warming, although its energy based emissions are a major source of pollution and environmental damage within the country. On the other hand, Pakistan is vulnerable to the consequences of climate change & our thoughts and awareness shape the world. Anger, fear, separation and greed are the thoughts that hold sway in our modern world, this is what allows us to exploit the natural world with no thought for the future, this is what allows us to oppress and exploit other people through our lifestyle.

How to add value during quality audit

We hear so much about the importance of “adding value” during quality management systems (QMS) audits, but what does this really mean? Is it possible to add value without compromising the integrity of the audit or providing consultancy? In principle, all audits should add value, but this is not always the case.


There are several dictionary definitions of “value”, but all focus on the concept of something being useful. “Adding value” therefore means to make something more useful.

Some organizations have used ISO 9000 series of standards to develop quality management systems that are integrated into the way they do business, and are useful in helping them to achieve their strategic business objectives – in other words they add value for the organization. Conversely, other organizations may have simply created a bureaucratic set of procedures and records that do not reflect the reality of the way the organization actually works, and simply add costs, without being useful. In other words, they do not “add value”.

In order to “add value”, a third-party audit should be useful to the certified organization





1) By providing information to top management regarding the organization’s ability to meet strategic objectives

2) By identifying problems which, if resolved, will enhance the organization’s performance,

3) By identifying improvement opportunities and possible areas of risk,

4) To the organization’s customers by enhancing the organization’s ability to provide conforming product,

5) To the certification body, by improving the credibility of the third party certification process.



The approach to “adding value” is likely to be a function of the level of maturity of the organization’s quality culture and the maturity of its QMS, with respect to the requirements of ISO 9001.

Some tips for the auditor on how to add value



1) Understand the auditee’s expectations/corporate culture

2) Any specific concerns to be addressed (output from previous audits)?

3) Risk analysis of industry sector / specific to organization.

4) Pre-evaluation of statutory/regulatory requirements

5) Appropriate audit team selection to achieve audit objectives

6) Adequate time allocation



Focus more on the process, and less on procedures.



7) Focus more on results and less on records.

8) Remember the 8 Quality Management Principles

9) Use the “Plan-Do-Check-Act” approach to evaluate the organization’s process effectiveness.

10) Has the process been planned?

11) Is it being carried out according to plan?

12) Are the planned results being achieved?

13) Are opportunities for improvement being identified and implemented?

14) Adopt a “holistic” approach to evidence gathering throughout the audit, instead of focusing on individual clauses of ISO 9001

15) Put the findings into perspective (Risk assessment / “common sense”).



Relate findings to the effect on the organization’s ability to provide conforming product



16) Sensible reporting of audit findings.

17) Ensure that any cultural aspects are taken into consideration

18) Emphasize positive findings as appropriate

19) Reports should be objective and focused on the right “audience”. (Top management will probably have expectations that are different from those of the management representative).

Car Consumer Psychology in Pakistan

Pakistan is currently one of the biggest car consumers around the world. The total contribution of Automobile sector in GDP of Pakistan was 2.8% in 2007 when Automobile consumption was at its peak in Pakistan. Also, Pakistan's industry is basically manufacturing oriented & Automobile sector contributes 16% to the overall manufacturing in our homeland.

All the above mentioned facts & figures are entirely dependent on the car consumer who has the capability to accept & appreciate one automobile producer's products, while discard another.

The Car consumer psychology in Pakistan is basically very limited & concentrated to certain automobile manufacturers. While if any other manufacturer intends to introduce their automobile products, it almost becomes impossible to for the new comer to diversify the vision of the consumer, even through proper marketing. This is due to the influence of certain Japanese car manufacturers who have developed a strong hold on various categories of car production in Pakistan namely reliability, availability & most importantly cost.





The truth however remains, about the little knowledge of the consumer to conduct market survey when he intends to own an automobile. Automobile purchase in Pakistan is entirely dependent on what others purchase. Generally it is seen that once an individual decides to purchase an automobile he generally considers his range first & keeping that range in mind he just concentrates on the most popular car of that respective category. The best example to prove this point as evidence is the low rate of success of Korean cars in Pakistan. When KIA & Hyundai introduced their sedans & hatchbacks respectively; back in the year 2000, hoping to give their Japanese counterparts a stiff competition through competitive rates of their vehicles & spare parts; unfortunately they failed quite badly.





This was due to the monopoly of the Japanese manufactures in the market, which are considered to be the most reliable in Pakistan. I absolutely agree that the vehicles manufactured under the Japanese banner are reliable & cost effective too, but I emphasize that today the standards of car manufacturing have increased globally. Korean car manufacturing giants KIA & Hyundai are well respected in American as well as European markets. This is due to the high standards of comfort, reliability & drive characteristics offered by their Sedans, Hatchbacks, SUV’s & MPV’s at almost similar or even cheaper rates in comparison to Japanese manufacturers.

The question that arises in my mind after considering all these facts is just that if the European & American market is ready to accept the Korean car manufacturers then why couldn’t we? Why we remain ignorant to these facts or are we pretending to be ignorant?





Market survey in Pakistan chiefly means that the car an individual is about to purchase is either easily repairable or not & whether the spare parts are available at low rates or not. Other than these two basic facts the purchaser never bothers about any other aspect regarding the vehicle he is about to purchase.

One of the key aspects is Safety of the vehicle incase of head on/side on impacts & rollover. While purchasing a vehicle the purchaser absolutely neglects the safety parameters offered by the vehicle he is about to purchase. The only obligatory safety parameter in Pakistani Automobile market is the presence of seat belts, other than that the presence of Crumple zones & SRS Airbags is an kept just as an option by the manufacturers & that too only for the highly priced brands.



Another safety feature that has entered our car market about four years ago is the presence of Anti locking Braking system (ABS). This is also limited to only the highly priced vehicles and that too in the optional category.





Now I would like to highlight this fact with an example. Let us suppose a consumer is intentional to purchase a car of 1300cc engine displacement category & he is offered two cars of almost same cost; One having more passenger & boot space but less safety features like the absence of Airbags & ABS while the other having these safety features present but a compact body shell offering less space, it will be generally seen that the individual will opt. for the vehicle with more space neglecting the importance of safety features. If he is asked about the reason of taking such a decision the probable answer heard is “Basically I am a family man so a car offering more passenger space for my family & a boot that offers good capacity for my luggage is all that I need”.

Ignorance to Safety which is one of the major aspects of a vehicle results in fatal casualties sadly. It has to be accepted that Safety features introduced by European & American car manufacturers not so long ago, like the Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Traction Control (TC) & Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) are unheard of here in Pakistan, also the presence of 7 Airbags which include curtain Airbags is something unimaginable in our country, but utilizing the safety parameters made available by the local manufacturers is entirely up to the consumer.





Other minute aspects are the looks & dive performance of the vehicle. It is generally seen that a car that offers better visual design features is appreciated even if it offers much worse drive characteristics than its competitor with duller looks.





Pakistan is a developing country offering immense scope for car manufacturing & consumption. As we all say this today that Cars have become intelligent these days due to the usage to electronic components that reduce emissions & maintain great fuel economy, I personally hope that the consumers in Pakistan should also utilize their intelligence while purchasing a vehicle in order to receive much better rewards in terms of better drive, comfort & good safety parameters for the price they pay for their vehicle, & avoid themselves from exploitation by the presence of monopoly in our market