Hydropower promoter and climate change activist Krishna Prasad Bhandari has taken an initiative to set up Climate Impact and Evaluation Fund (CIEF).
According to Bhandari, the main aim of the fund is to conduct study and research on the impact of climate change in hydropower projects and suggest ways for possible mitigation.
The main areas of research will be environmental balance and impact of climate change in hydropower projects and electricity centers. Bhandari has submitted an application to the Independent Power Producers’ Association (IPPAN), providing Rs 51,000 as seed money for the establishment of the fund. In his proposal, Bhandari has said preventive measures are necessary that the hydropower sector could face in the coming days due to climate change related disasters.
The clean energy that Nepal produces is a main source of green energy, and through such green energy we can produce green hydrogen that could power electric vehicles as well as contribute to the production of chemical fertilizers, Bhandari has proposed.
He has also drawn the attention of IPPN to play a vital role on how to maximize the benefit from carbon tax and carbon credit. As Nepal has already announced its plan to l achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, Bhandari said the government needs to promote clean energy policies. To implement such a policy, there is a need for strong and productive collaboration between government and private sector for the management of catchment and maintaining a status quo of watershed Management Conservation.
Adverse impacts of climate change are already seen in the Himalayas which are the sources of many rivers. The government and IPPN should take the environmental issues without any delay and with a sense of urgency, Bhandari said.
