The protest by the labour leaders and human rights activists last month has brought to light, once again, the miserable working and living conditions the workers are braced to at Gadani shipbreaking yards. On the 1st of November every year they mark the tragic accident occurred on that day in 2016, termed as the worst disaster in the history of…
Read MoreMonth: December 2020
China again bails out Pakistan to pay Saudi debt
ISLAMABAD: China has again bailed out Pakistan as it agrees to immediately provide $1.5 billion financing line to repay the $2 billion Saudi Arabia debt, sources told The Express Tribune. Out of $2 billion, Pakistan is now set to return the $1 billion on coming Monday, said the sources in the finance ministry and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).…
Read More$226 Billion Pension Fund Considers Dumping Oil & Gas Investments
The $226-billion New York State Common Retirement Fund is undertaking a review of all energy companies it is invested in, to assess their readiness for the energy transition and dump those considered riskiest in climate-related investment. As it pledged on Wednesday to transition its portfolio of holdings to one with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, the pension fund—the third-largest…
Read MorePakistan won’t approve new coal power plants
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, announced over the weekend that as part of a number of efforts to counteract the effects of climate change, his administration will not approve new coal-fired power generation projects. “We have already scrapped two coal power projects which were supposed to produce 2,600 megawatts of energy. [We have] replaced them with hydroelectricity,” Khan said during his address…
Read MorePowering dream of EV revolution
KARACHI: The atmosphere was electrified in the headquarters of Tesla on the battery day held on September 22 as expectations were high that perhaps their charismatic CEO Elon Musk had found a secret recipe to make cheaper, reliable and safest batteries. So far, the company’s stock has surged 10 times in a span of just one year and is now…
Read MorePunjab’s Smoking Basket
Long considered to be the ‘food basket’ of South Asia, Punjab is the most agriculturally productive region in the Indo-Gangetic plain. Unlike the spring harvest which brings beautiful colours and festivals such as the Baisakhi Mela, the autumn harvest results in a gloomy ambience, which engulfs the region in hazardous smog. The R-Smog Report of 2018 indicates that air pollution in Punjab originating…
Read MoreGovt to appoint CEOs of Discos, MDs of gas utilities
This comes on the heels of over Rs2.3 trillion circular debt in the power sector as of Sept 30, 2020, and about Rs350bn circular debt in the gas utilities — Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) — up from Rs1.2tr and about Rs120bn in 2018, respectively. The federal cabinet will meet on Tuesday.…
Read MoreIran Expects To Sell 2.3 Million Bpd In 2021
Iranian authorities seem confident they could be able to sell as much as 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in the next Iranian year that begins in March 2021, according to Iran’s budget bill. The bill, which has been recently submitted for discussion and approval at the Iranian Parliament, assumes that Iran will get revenues from the sale…
Read MoreChina Looks To Boost Shale Gas Development
China is looking to attract investments in shale gas developments by easing restrictions on foreign entities and subsidizing costs in a bid to boost its natural gas production while its demand continues to grow. China has shale gas reserves but the geology to extract those resources is challenging, so it is not clear if the incentives will attract major international…
Read MoreSolar Energy Boom Fuels Demand For Silver
Saxo Bank projects silver will soar to a record $50 an ounce in 2021, powered by loose Federal Reserve monetary policy and a weak dollar, and turbocharged by surging demand for the white metal in the solar energy sector. According to the Saxo Bank report, the “usual suspects” will continue to power silver upward, referring to the extraordinary monetary policy we’ve seen in response…
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