Nepal Needs Climate Justice

Science and technology has brought a revolutionary change in society. It has contributed to the qualitative development of almost all areas of human life. People from all walks of life are enjoying the fruits of technological advancement - be it swipe on a smartphone or a smoother ride in SUV. Here, a largely unaddressed but fairly addressable issue is the deteriorating health of the earth due to the activities of human themselves. 

Since the start of an industrial era, global average temperatures have increased by an around 1 degrees Celsius and is most likely to hit 1.50C threshold before the end of this century if we fail to keep in check current trend of rising temperature. July of 2023 was marked as the hottest July in 120,000 years. Limiting global warming or maintaining world's average surface temperature in safer limit of 1.50C by 2100 compared to pre-industrial levels is considered to be a tough nut to crack, but it is still possible to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emission by 2050. The 2015 Paris Agreement targets to limit global warming well below 20C by the end of this century but presumably the safer limit is to be 1.50C.

Carbon neutral country 

Nepal has been continuously suffering from climate-induced incidents such as erratic rainfalls, floods, droughts, heat waves and landslides. It is the fourth most climate-vulnerable country in the world. Being nestled on the lap of the majestic Himalayas, our lush hills and gurgling glacier-fed rivers are in constant threat from global warming despite being a carbon neutral country. Without any role in global carbon footprint addition, Nepal has already lost one-third of its snow since 1990. On the contrary, Nepal has made an enormous contribution in maintaining its lush forests which cover 45 per cent of the total land, and also positions itself to deliver 30 million carbon credits in the years to come. 

Nepal has preserved green properties such as verdant forests, Ramsar sites, soil and floodplains while promoting gray infrastructure. Today, a substantial portion of our investment goes in building hydropower plants along with other critical infrastructure taking ecological values into consideration.  The recently held 28th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP28) held in Dubai, UAE last year established loss and damage funds for Himalayas and the small islands and low-lying countries facing a serious threat from the rising seas. How could this concept help to solve the crux of the problem without being seriously responsive?  The root cause of the problems are fossil-fuel based industries and escalating carbonation. 

Speedy de-carbonation goals can't be achieved through merely climate financing meant for adaptation and survival. In our case, loss and damage funds for installing the monitoring system in vulnerable pockets of glacier lakes could be a welcoming move but maximum consumption of our green energy by establishing green industries with global support can be a real climate justice for us.  

Pretty soon, Nepal should make necessary preparations in adopting the green and clean energy strategy for maximum utilisation of such precious assets in our own land through FDI-based green industries and other means as a bargaining chip for climate change adaptation whereas our policy document on this issue remains silent in all previous climate summits. If we follow this suit, it will certainly help transform the country into a green economy by pulling out from a remittance one. Remittance forms 20 per cent of our total GDP that is not good sign for the health of national economy. 

In any international climate-related forums, our voice should be louder and clearer in the interest of the country. Today, Nepal has already shown its success story by growing, regulating and conserving community forests. Given increasing threat posed by the greenhouse gases, the market of clean energy should be of high demand and values. Any product that is engendered by clean energy deserves a 'value tag' or eco-levelling for hassle-free international accessibility. 

Energy trade 

Along with our northern neighbour, India and Bangladesh are doing well in manufacturing sectors. India ranks fifth in global manufacturing outputs. As India has already announced to achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2070 and making monumental transformation in its production of solar energy, every volt or watt of green energy bears a different meaning for it. Keeping this point in view, India reached an agreement with Nepal in importing 10000-MW electricity by mid of 2033. Likewise, Nepal and Bangladesh are looking forward to building dedicated transmission lines for additional power trade. 

For now, trading surplus energy with our neighbours is a good step in boosting clean energy and reduce foreign trade deficit. But our endeavour in the next climate event (COP29) should be to attract the attention of global community. More importantly, our close and immediate neighbours should consume at least 50 per cent of the total our green products. Such initiative should also be regarded as a reward for Nepal in maintaining the global carbon cycle. 

(The author is former senior engineer at Nepali Army. pthapa.ktm@gmail.com)