Convener of the FPCCI’s Regional Committee on Food, Shahid Imran, has said that emerging innovative biofuels hold immense potential for advancing renewable energy solutions in Pakistan, a country grappling with rising energy demands and the impacts of climate change.
Speaking to a delegation of industrialists led by Engr. Sultan Mahmood Arain, Chairman/CEO of Creative Group and Secretary General of the Federation of Engineering Institutions of South and Central Asia, here on Sunday, he said Pakistan’s heavy dependence on imported fossil fuels and worsening environmental degradation call for urgent alternatives. Biofuels derived from agricultural, municipal, and industrial waste, he noted, can provide a sustainable and cost-effective substitute, reducing reliance on costly imports while addressing ecological challenges.
As an agrarian economy, Pakistan generates abundant biomass resources such as wheat straw, rice husk, sugarcane bagasse, cotton stalks, and maize cobs. “Currently, much of this biomass is either burned or wasted, creating air pollution and health hazards. With advanced technologies, we can turn this waste into wealth,” Shahid Imran remarked.
He highlighted second-generation bioethanol, biodiesel from non-edible oil seeds, biogas, and algae-based fuels as innovative solutions that not only offer cleaner combustion but also open new opportunities for rural employment, income generation, and poverty reduction by creating value chains across the agriculture and energy sectors.