By Aashish Mishra

Kathmandu, Oct. 5:Monday was World Habitat Day and this year it was marked with the theme “Accelerating urban action for a carbon-free world”.
According to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development better known as UN-Habitat, cities are one of the biggest polluters in the world accounting for around 70 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions.

Nepal is also a rapidly urbanising country. According to the Economic Survey of 2019/20, 62.2 per cent of Nepal’s population live in urban areas and facilities like transportation, infrastructure, energy and waste management are expanding. However, the expansion of these services also contributes to our greenhouse emissions.

“We are not as bad an offender as some of the bigger cities of the world but that does not mean we can continue on our path as it is,” cautioned Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, former vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission and chairman of the Nepal Institute for Urban and Regional Studies. “We must learn from the world and manage our emissions.”

Pokharel said that, since Nepal was presently in the process of building infrastructure in newly-declared municipalities, it was in an ideal position to create sustainable cities.
“We have a blank canvas where we will be able to integrate concepts of sustainable building and environment-friendly facilities directly into the planning,” Pokharel, who has also written on environmental resource management and negotiation, said. “Instead of correcting our course later, we have a chance to ensure that we never take the wrong path at all.”

Pokharel further shared that the concepts of green towns and alternative energy had begun to be discussed among urban planners and relevant circles but the lack of a credible state-level authority had stalled progress.
“We have the ideas and the means necessary but people still lack confidence,” he stated, adding, “Just as there is a central authority – the Ministry of Health and Population – to clear people’s doubts regarding COVID-19, we need a credible source that instils faith in the people about carbon-free urban spaces.”

For the state’s part, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has expressed the incumbent government’s commitment to internalising and implementing Nepal’s national and international obligations towards maintaining a clear urban environment.
Issuing a message on the occasion of World Habitat Day, PM Deuba stressed the need for environment-friendly development. “Sustainable urbanisation and sustainable development goals must be given due consideration while constructing infrastructures, cities and managing public vehicles and greenery in order to ensure low carbon emissions.”

He also noted that every citizen of Nepal had the constitutionally-protected right to live in a clean and healthy environment and stated that the government was devoted to carrying out planned urbanisation.