Month: August 2021

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Power and Petroleum Tabish Gauhar has decided to squeeze his role up to giving his advice as a technocrat to the government for policy level decisions and energy sector reforms. He also started avoiding attending crucial meetings held on the operational level. According to the top sources at the Energy Ministry, Tabish Gauhar, if asked to tender resignation, would be only because of his technical advice on the North-South Gas Pipeline, which has been renamed as Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline (PSPG). The sources close…

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The debate on premature de-industrialisation in developing economies hinges on the premise that open trade, elimination of protective tariffs and withdrawal of subsidies are harmful for local industries. In the case of auto policy, the proponents of this debate devised import substitution policies, which led to the deletion programme. Thus, while it helped local auto parts industry to develop, it gave rise to a protected auto industry, which has continued to flourish on the back of tariffs and other incentives. The government and automobile industries are the main beneficiaries as…

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Trump rolled that back to 1.5 pc per year and added another year to the rules. Biden’s plan requires 10pc emissions reductions in 2023 and 5pc every year after that through 2026. Trump’s standards ended with the fleet averaging about 29 miles per gallon (mpg) in real-world driving. The Biden rule should be close to the Obama mileage requirement, about 37mpg. Consumer Reports calculates that the new standards will deliver only 75pc of the emissions cuts from the original Obama standards because of delays caused by Trump and loopholes. Will…

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The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has urged the public representatives and government to come up with policy guidelines for competition-based development and expansion of national grid and new residential gas connection in view of the expiry of monopoly of the two gas companies — Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited. “Please be advised that exclusivity of the gas companies to operate in franchise areas is no longer valid and hence new development schemes are to be awarded on a competitive basis,” Ogra wrote…

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France’s top administrative court has fined the government a record sum for failing to reduce air pollution to acceptable levels. The Council of State on Wednesday slapped its highest fine ever, 10 million euros, on President Emmanuel Macron’s government, warning it would do so again within months if the authorities fail to act quickly to combat smog. Announcing the record fine, the Council of State, France’s top administrative tribunal, said measures decided by the government were insufficient to improve air quality. Last year, the council ruled that the government had…

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