Analysis: China's shifting energy investments in Pakistan, from coal to renewables.

Until about a decade ago, the Jhimpir region in Sindh was a dry, barren stretch of land, inhabited by nomadic tribes. Today, it is home to hundreds of mammoth rotating blades in about two dozen wind farms.

Around 90 kilometres from Karachi, Jhimpir is the heartland of the country's largest 'wind corridor', which has the potential to produce 11,000 megawatts (MW) of clean energy.

Among early investors was the China Three Gorges Corporation, a Chinese state-owned power company, operating under an investment holding company, China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Limited.

The company has funded and built three wind projects with a combined capacity of nearly 150 MW. The first of these began construction in 2012.

The latter two projects, completed in 2018, were funded under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an integral part of Beijing's flagship multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In an official statement following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visit to China on Nov 1-2, the premier reaffirmed the importance of CPEC to Pakistan's development.

For the time being, renewables represent only a small portion of Pakistan's power generation mix. Of a total of 43,775 MW, installed capacity for wind and solar represent around 4.2 per cent (1,831 MW) and 1.4pc (630 MW) respectively, according to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority's State of Industry 2022 report.

In terms of CPEC, the November 2022 joint statement from China and Pakistan listed oil and gas as among the 'priority areas of CPEC cooperation'.

But a recent shift in the direction of Chinese investment may be hugely significant for the country's energy future, and the climate.

The shift from coal?

In the years before the launch of CPEC in 2015, Pakistan was desperate to end its long, crippling power shortages.

The country was keen to develop its untapped indigenous coal in Thar desert, but multilateral financial institutions were not interested. Along came China in 2013, with an offer to lend massive amounts for infrastructure development and coal mining.

Details of the financing deals are a closely guarded secret, but multiple Chinese-funded coal projects followed. Eight completed or under-construction coal projects are listed as part of CPEC, totalling 6,900 MW, which include four on Thar coal.

Then in 2021, after growing pressure on China - currently the world's biggest polluter - to curb its greenhouse gas emissions, Beijing announced it would...

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