Pakistan's escalating reliance on fossil fuels presents a critical vulnerability to its long-term energy security. The volatile global pricing of oil and gas, coupled with the geopolitical instability characterizing major exporting regions, introduces an unpredictable cost variable into national planning. While transitioning rapidly to renewables like solar and wind power is unequivocally essential for insulating the economy from external commodity shocks, this shift faces considerable domestic hurdles. Intermittency remains a primary technical concern; integrating large-scale, variable renewable sources requires substantial, often prohibitive, investments in modernized grid infrastructure and advanced energy storage solutions. Therefore, achieving robust energy sovereignty necessitates not merely an increase in renewable capacity, but a synchronized, strategic overhaul of the transmission backbone alongside policy frameworks that incentivize decentralized generation.

Based on the passage, what is the author's central argument regarding Pakistan's path to national energy security?

Question

Pakistan's escalating reliance on fossil fuels presents a critical vulnerability to its long-term energy security. The volatile global pricing of oil and gas, coupled with the geopolitical instability characterizing major exporting regions, introduces an unpredictable cost variable into national planning. While transitioning rapidly to renewables like solar and wind power is unequivocally essential for insulating the economy from external commodity shocks, this shift faces considerable domestic hurdles. Intermittency remains a primary technical concern; integrating large-scale, variable renewable sources requires substantial, often prohibitive, investments in modernized grid infrastructure and advanced energy storage solutions. Therefore, achieving robust energy sovereignty necessitates not merely an increase in renewable capacity, but a synchronized, strategic overhaul of the transmission backbone alongside policy frameworks that incentivize decentralized generation.

Based on the passage, what is the author's central argument regarding Pakistan's path to national energy security?

Accepted Answer

True energy security requires a dual focus: expanding renewable sources while simultaneously modernizing the underlying transmission infrastructure.. C is correct because the passage synthesizes that achieving security requires both increased capacity (renewables) and structural fixes (grid overhaul). B is incorrect because the author explicitly mentions technical hurdles beyond just generation capacity. A is incorrect because while storage is an issue, the passage frames it as one part of a larger infrastructural necessity. D is incorrect because the passage focuses on domestic systemic solutions rather than external geopolitical ones.