Anusuya Aryal

As the global environment worsened beyond imagination, the Paris Agreement of 2015 came as a beacon of light to bring order out of chaos. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement is the legally binding international treaty on climate change. As per the deal, more than 190 nations had committed to limit the global temperature to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to limit heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In simple terms, the Conference of Parties (COP) is like a rendezvous point where the country leaders assemble to give the updates on how the efforts to stick to the accord are going on. Similarly, COP26 (26th climate change COP) was one of such moments where countries revisited the climate pledges made under the Paris Agreement.

Awareness
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba represented Nepal in the climate conference that took place from 31st October to 12th November 2021 in Glasgow of the United Kingdom. This time, the Nepal had aimed to engage more strategically and effectively at the national and international level to raise awareness of the needs and priorities of the country. During the conference, Nepal strongly raised concerns about the various important issues regarding the impact of climate change on the entire economy of the Himalayan region and the ecosystems of the downstream region.
According to an article published in the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, our government’s engagements included the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement, climate finance needed for rolling out of its national and international commitments, and the mountain agenda. 

It is needless to say that the mountain agenda is very important in the context of Nepal as it possesses the ability to affect not only the general livelihood of the people residing within the country but also the future of about 1.4 billion people around the world. Addressing the World Leaders Summit on November 1, Prime Minister Deuba highlighted the urgency of recognising the mountains’ climate vulnerability by emphasising that “around 80 per cent of the country’s population is at risk from natural and climate-induced hazards. During the last 40 years, natural disasters have caused a loss of nearly $6 billion to physical and economic damage in Nepal alone.

Since Nepal is extremely susceptible to climate change, we have experienced changes in temperature and precipitation at a rate faster than the global average. This is exactly why the global North’s commitments to climate financing are of great importance to Nepal. In the major event co-hosted by the British Embassy in Kathmandu, and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) at COP26, Nepal emphasised making sure that all of its people exposed to climate change are protected from it by committing to halt deforestation with increase in forest cover to about 45 per cent by 2030.

Being one of the least developed mountainous and land-locked countries, Nepal has the lowest contributions (only 0.027 per cent) to the total global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The climate and energy experts in Nepal have expressed their support in Nepal’s commitments to climate justice presented at COP26. However, concerns have been raised that the commitments may not be realised due to the government's insincerity in implementation, and the lack of strategic planning in developing the necessary infrastructures.
As mentioned in The New York Times, the major deal announced at the climate summit in Glasgow included 23 countries that promised to stop building and issuing permits for new coal plants for the first time. While the world leaders promised to curb methane, a potent greenhouse gas that can warm the atmosphere 80 times faster than carbon dioxide in the short term, and end deforestation by 2030, the most important goals remained elusive. On the bright side, more than 90 countries did agree to limit such emissions. India has agreed to significantly expand its renewable energy sources and aim to be “net-zero” by 2070.

Similarly, as per a recent World Bank report, if no immediate action is taken, the African continent alone will be hit the hardest by climate change, with up to 86 million Africans migrating within their own countries by 2050. Furthermore, the publication proclaims that 760 million people — many of them living in the poorest countries and responsible for less than one-tenth of global GHG emissions — remain without energy access, as they tend to be the most impacted by extreme weather events and natural disasters.

Poverty
The report highlights the connection between climate change and its impact on human wellbeing which, when left unchecked, is bound to push 132 million people into poverty over the next 10 years. Additionally, it has also been clearly mentioned that the impact of climate change could drive 216 million people to migrate within their own countries by 2050.

Looking at how devastating the effects of climate change can affect the livelihood of the whole world, Nepal should also take immediate action to prevent the inevitable loss from taking place. Nepal should strengthen her short- and long-term policy framework, develop solid evidence on vulnerabilities to enhance timely decision making, prepare a strategic financing roadmap to climate change, create public awareness on the severe impact of climate change, and enhance coordination among all stakeholders including the government bodies if she is to achieve all the milestones and goals that have been agreed upon in the national and international arenas.

(Aryal studies at St. Xavier’s College. aaryalanusuya@gmail.com)