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<\/a><\/p>\nAdil Najam<\/a>, Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was recently interviewed on Pakistan’s Thar coal project as well as how the country can transition from coal to renewable sources of energy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Najam was interviewed for an April 13, 2017 article in\u00a0The Express Tribune<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>entitled “With Thar Coal Project, Pakistan is Harnessing the Dirtiest Energy<\/a>.”<\/p>\n From the text of the article:<\/p>\n Dr Adil Najam, a renowned educationist and lead author of IPCC\u2019s third and fifth assessment reports, rightly says the great transition in energy is already happening. \u201cCoal is out. Solar and wind are in. Renewables can now be produced at megawatt-scale and they are now at or near cost-competitive levels,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea that Pakistan has no alternatives to coal as an energy source is simply wrong. But also wrong is the idea that there has to be a single alternative to coal. The energy economy of the future will be a multi-sourced economy. What that means is that coal is not going to be \u2018replaced\u2019 by wind,\u00a0solar, geothermal, ocean wave or any other singular \u2018magic\u2019 technology. It is going to be replaced by a combination of all these technologies and by many others,\u201d he further explained.<\/p>\n According to Najam, none of the many alternative energy sources that are available can \u2018alone\u2019 replace coal. \u201cBut together, they have the potential to meet Pakistan\u2019s needs. However, this will require thinking not in terms of energy \u2018projects\u2019 but in terms of energy \u2018policy\u2019 and even energy \u2018strategy\u2019,\u201d Najam stressed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n