Nepal shaping its Intended Nationally Determined
Climate change is a complex term to understand. Some realize it as a critical issue and situation while others ignore it citing it a natural process.The Earth has been experiencing drastic changes in its biosphere. According to NASA, within 64 years (from 1950 to 2014), the carbon dioxide level (ppm) has increased from about ppm to around ppm.The change had never been above ppm in 650,000 years. According to scientists, in last century, the global sea level rose about 6.7 inches while the rate of increase has nearly doubled in the past few decades alone. The climate change is melting snow caps in Himalayas while the Greenland and Antarctic ice-sheet have decreased in mass—about 150 to 250 cubic km of ice per year, according to NASA.
Various countries have made efforts in mitigating and adapting the affects and vulnerabilities of the climate change. The Kyoto protocol affected in 2005 mandated the industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gases emissions.The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Durban, South Africa in 2011 launched a process, comprising all Parties under the Convention, to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change by 2015 and to come to effect and be implemented from 2020.
Similarly, in 2012 Doha climate change talks, a most high profile agreement was incorporated that sought richer nations to compensate poor nations for their failure to reduce carbon emissions.The 2014 Lima Summit served as a milestone in reaching Paris climate agreement of 2015. The Paris Climate Summit held in December 2015agreed to limit global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius, while urging efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees.
Under the UNFCCC, countries across the globe created a new Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC)—an agreement that publicly outlines what climate actions they intend to take post-2020.
According to UNFCC, in INDC, a country could formulate a national policy on climate change based on its national priorities, circumstances and capabilities in line with a global framework that drives collective action toward a low-carbon, climate-resilient future. A country’s INDC may include time frames and/or periods for implementation, scope and coverage, planning processes, assumptions and methodological approaches including those for estimating and accounting for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and, as appropriate, removals, and how the Party considers that its intended nationally determined contribution is fair and ambitious
In line with global climate change agreements, Nepal, a LDC, has been approaching adaptation and mitigation measures on climate change at local, regional and national level. However, it has not been able to keep up with climate change policy as mentioned due to challenging topography and socio-economic conditions.
The draft of Nepal did not mention the implementation periods, scope, coverage, planning process and methodologies to the actions mentioned. It says, Nepal will formulate and implement National Adaptation Plan and Environment Friendly Local Governance at Village Development Committees and municipalities to complement climate change adaptation, water conservation, promote renewable energy technologies, and greenery development.It also mentions about research-based approach,with support of scientific and academic communities, on loss and damages caused by the climate change. However,the INDC draft has failed to mention clearly about the plan of adaptation or to minimize the health effects that people are going to face due to climate change which is the most critical issue for country like Nepal. The draft has no proper strategies for adaptation and technology transfer for enhancing mitigation and adaptation despite Nepal being an agricultural and water resource country.
Nepal was the second Asian country to introduce electrical tempo as public transportation and construct hydropower plant. However, it didn’t sustain well though hydro power plants are growing in numbers. The considerable improvement has not been experienced despite these measures.
For mitigation approach, the draft says Nepal will reduce its dependence on fossil fuel in transportation sector by 50 percent through effective mass public transport means while promoting electric vehicles increasing its share up to 20 percent as from 2010 level by 2020.
In addition, Nepal’s transportation sector is heavily dependent on fossil fuel. There are many other solutions to fossil fuel that can be alternative in Nepal.Both bio diesel and bio-ethanol from plants like Jatropa and waste can be considered as of alternate fuels.These fuels also encourage the recycling process as most of them are manufactured from waste products which are one of the major environmental problem sin urban areas of Nepal. INDC draft does not explain about wastage to energy, solid waste management, climate resilient urban areas and strategies and plans for cities, but it has been mentioned in topic under financing for climate change in INDC draft. There is no clear mechanism for clean water resources and management for adaptation and future drought that is likely to be faced by Nepal within decades.
As most part of Nepal are rural areas, there is a need for capacity building programmes at local and regional level to address the climate change challenges, including promotion and importance of traditional and indigenous knowledge in agriculture, water resources to cope with the climate change effects.
It was not expected that Nepal would not submit draft of INDC at Climate Conference in Paris. It lacked appropriate climate action plan to be submitted in COP21. It was disappointment for Nepal. But after COP 21, Ministry of Environment and Population issued a notice for holding consultation and taking inputs from stakeholder and the general public in order to improve the INDC.
INDC of Nepal should have been more focused on strategies for each sector such as water, agriculture, energy, forest, health, capacity building, and transportation for adaptation and mitigation approach with future planning of urban and rural areas for climate resilience infrastructure and proper use of land. INDC document was submitted by Nepal in first week of Feb with no changes in strategies compared to its draft.
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