Preparations are underway to finalize the key agenda that Nepal flags in COP27. Government is holding consultations with key stakeholders to finalize those agendas. In this context, The Annapurna Express talked Madhav Karki, Climate Change and Environment advisor to the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on the government’s climate priority.  What role do you play as an advisor to the prime minister on climate change and environment? My main role is to advise the prime minister on the following aspects: a) Effective coordination among agencies working on Environment Protection and Climate Change; b) Assess the effectiveness of the current institutional arrangements to tackle country’s growing environment and climate change problems and challenges; c) Help the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE) to implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and National Adaptation Plan (NAP) at all tires of government; and d) Help improve the health ecosystem to increase the sustained production of ecosystem goods, services and the capacity of vulnerable communities.

What are the priorities of the government regarding the climate change issues for the upcoming COP27? 

The main priorities are: a) Secure 50 percent of the committed climate finance for adaptation and push for a decision on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA); b) Reduce the mitigation ambition gap by calling upon developed countries; c) Secure inclusion of the loss and damage and agreement on the operationalization of the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage (SNLD) by receiving commitment for its permanent Secretariat and dedicated funding; d) Secure 50 percent finance for adaptation out of the $100bn annual climate change finance committed by the developed country by 2023; and e) Champion the cause of mountains by promoting mountain agenda at various forums of the COP27 as a part of highlighting the disproportionate impact vulnerable countries are facing due to global climate change.  Besides, Nepal also needs to call for transparency and accountability in stepped-up climate change funding especially to the most vulnerable and least developed countries to support adaptation, capacity building and technology transfer.           What are the major tasks of the government regarding the impact of climate change issues? The government is engaged in completing a number of tasks to implement the Second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). As a priority, we are strengthening the institutional mechanism to manage climate change by operationalizing the long pending apex body of Environment Protection and Climate Change Management National Council chaired by the prime minister. Under the MoFE, following tasks are being carried out: a) Remain carbon negative between 2030 to 2045 and from 2045, achieve the target of Net Zero Emission by 2045. It was committed by the incumbent prime minister at COP26; b) By 2045, maintain 45 percent forest of the total area of the country (including other wooded land limited to less than four percent green cover); c) By 2030, manage 50 percent of Tarai and Inner Tarai forests and 25 percent of middle hills and mountain forests sustainably, through REDD+ initiatives; d) Ensure forests under community-based management will comprise at least 60 percent of forest area; e) By 2030, upgrade watershed health and vitality in at least 20 districts to a higher condition category; f) By 2030, all 753 local governments will prepare and implement climate-resilient and gender-responsive adaptation plans. The plans will address climate change, disaster vulnerability and risks as well as prioritize adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management measures focusing on women, persons with disability, children, senior citizens, youth, indigenous people, economically deprived communities and people residing in climate-vulnerable geographical areas; and g) The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) will be updated in every ten years and a national level Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (VRA) exercise will be carried out in every five years to influence and inform climate finance resource allocation decisions. Why does the MoFE only change the climate-related policy?  However, there should be multiple stakeholders linked for cross-cutting issues. When will the government bring such policies? Or are there any specific plans to fight against climate change issues through joint efforts? As the current Climate Change Policy of the government is to mainstream climate change management in all sectoral policies, plans and programs at the all levels of government, following plans have been introduced for a joint, integrated and holistic approach: Under agriculture sector

• By 2030, soil organic matter content of agriculture land will reach to 3.95 percent
• By 2030, the number of organic fertilizer production plants in the country will reach 100
• Integrate climate change in the upcoming revised Agriculture Policy;
• By 2025, update the Rangeland Policy and develop plans for the sustainable management of rangelands
• By 2030, establish 200 climate-smart villages and 500 climate-smart farms.

Under health sector

• By 2025, climate-sensitive diseases surveillance systems will be strengthened through the integration of climate and weather information into existing surveillance systems

Under disaster risk reduction sector

• Public Weather Services (PWS), including the Agro-Meteorological Information System, will be strengthened and established
• By 2030, a multi-hazard monitoring and early warning system covering all the provinces will be established
• By 2025, a national strategy and action plan on Loss and Damage (L&D) associated with climate change impacts will be devised

Under energy sector

• By 2030, expand clean energy generation from approximately 1,400MW to 15,000MW, of which 5-10 percent will be generated from mini and micro-hydro power, solar, wind and bio-energy. Of this, 5,000 MW is an unconditional target. The remainder is dependent upon the provision of funding by the international community
• By 2030, ensure 15 percent of the total energy demand is supplied from clean energy sources
• By 2030, ensure 25 percent of households use electric stoves as their primary mode of cooking
• By 2025, install 500,000 improved cook stoves, specifically in rural areas
• By 2025, install an additional 200,000 household biogas plants and 500 large scale biogas plants (institutional/industrial/ municipal/community)
• By 2030, increase the reliable supply of clean energy, ensuring access to all
• Increase the quantity (kWh), quality, reliability, and affordability of electricity access from renewable sources
• Strengthen transmission and distribution links to support upscaling of e-cooking, e-heating, e-transport and charging stations

Under urban development sector

• Adopt national building codes and prepare Integrated Urban Development Plans (IUDPs) emphasizing low carbon and climate-resilient urban settlements in all municipalities
• By 2025, revise the urban environment management guidelines to incorporate activities related to promoting low carbon and climate resilient urban settlements.

Under solid waste management sector

• By 2030, create an enabling environment for both public and private sector to treat industrial and municipal waste, including fecal sludge
• By 2030, adopt and implement waste segregation, recycling and waste-to-energy programs in at least 100 municipalities
• By 2030, the burning of healthcare waste in 1,400 healthcare facilities will be prohibited by proper management of healthcare waste through the application of non-burn technologies
• Promote the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) approach to waste management, along with source segregation and management of degradable and non-degradable waste
• Focus on co-production of energy and organic fertilizer from solid waste, wastewater and fecal sludge

Tourism mitigation targets 

• By 2025, formulate and implement nature-based tourism plans in at least five main tourist destinations
• By 2030, ensure at least five tourist destinations are carbon neutral
• By 2030, including measures in policies to offset the carbon footprint of emissions resulting from tourism transport

Transport mitigation targets 

• Sales of electric vehicles (e-vehicles) in 2025 will be 25 percent of all private passenger vehicles sales, including two-wheelers and 20 percent of all four-wheeler public passenger vehicle sales (this public passenger target does not take into account electric rickshaws and electric-tempos) in 2025. Due to this e-vehicle sales target, fossil fuel energy demand for the transportation sector will decrease from approximately 40m GJ in the Business as Usual (BAU) scenario in 2025 to 36m GJ. This would be around a nine percent decrease in fossil fuel dependency. This target will reduce emissions from a projected BAU of 2,988 Gg CO2eq. in 2030 to 2,619 Gg CO2 eq., which is around 28 percent decrease in emissions
• By 2030, develop 200 km of the electric rail network to support public commuting and mass transportation of goods.

Will the Nepali Congress include climate issues in its manifesto for the upcoming federal election? Does a coalition government plan to address this issue as a common minimum political agenda?  You may have noticed that the coalition partners have given priority to climate change in their manifestos of local elections. The Nepali Congress specifically gave top priority to the climate change agenda by mentioning the following priorities: a) Communicate latest  information on the impact of climate change on natural as well as socio-economic system of the country and enhance capacity, mobilize finance and prepare local government level adaptation and disaster risk reduction plans and programs; b) Enable local government to action on climate change issues singularly or by forming clusters in the frame of ecosystem, watershed, river basins/sub-basin management; c) To reduce GHG emissions from industrial production and processing (IPP), Agriculture and Land Management, and Energy production sector; d) Preparation of Local Adaptation Plans by giving priority of Ecosystem and Community based adaptation actions; e) Promotion of renewable and alternative energy in domestic energy use; f) Human resources development by building human and institutional capacity; and g) Water sources, soil and watershed and forest resources management work will be conducted based on globally accepted standards and principles. How did you find yourself different from other climate change-related organizations in comparison to this advisory role? Environment and climate change is a cross-cutting issue as these challenges impact all sectors in all levels of government. To fight these fast emerging challenges, global forums such as COP have called for integrated and holistic approaches. In the case of Nepal, Prime Minister Deuba addressed the COP26 summit saying “ Nepal remains firmly committed to the implementation of the Paris Agreement and aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045. Our NDC has been reviewed as one of the most ambitious ones.” We commit to sustainably manage our natural resources by adopting clean energy and green economic development strategies and actions. The prime minister said we have approved the Long Term Strategy on Loss and Damage and National Adaptation Plan as our hydro power resources hold great potential to contribute in reducing emissions beyond our borders. The Prime Minister has clearly laid out a cross-sector, cross-scale and regional approach to climate change management.  My role as the Climate Change and Environment advisor is to implement the policy pronouncement made by the prime minister. I will especially focus on establishing an all-sector approach by promoting both vertical and horizontal coordination, collaboration and cooperation among the three levels of governments in mainstreaming climate change in their actions.   Being a well-wisher of the Unity for Sustainability campaign, what specific suggestions would you like to give us? In Nepal, awareness about the multi-pronged impact of increasing air pollution, climatic and human action induced disasters, climate change and environment unfriendly development actions and unhealthy food system. Therefore, your campaign must continuously raise awareness and push for behavior change at citizen level because people need to understand the importance of Reducing, Reusing and Recycling our garbage to protect our environment. The government alone cannot tackle these huge challenges and hence the private and corporate sector must practice Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in true sense. Green and Resilient Investment especially in transport and construction sectors are the biggest source of air, water and land pollution and your campaign should work on that. The campaign must focus on the major issue that is making our capital city Kathmandu one of the most polluted and poorly governed cities in the world.