The strategy is a part of the government’s continued efforts towards low-emission and climate-resilient economic growth through clean energy technologies such as hydropower and biogas, and help achieve the low-carbon development path.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MoSTE) prepared the strategy under the Nepal Climate Change Support Programme (NCCSP) to make the country self-reliant on clean energy by 2022 and achieve high economic development through green technologies by 2030.

A draft of the strategy was made public on January 27 for inputs and feedbacks from wide range of stakeholders within 15 days, MoSTE officials said. The draft focuses on hydropower development as the backbone of the energy system to achieve sustainable economic growth in the long term.

Since Nepal’s contribution to the global greenhouse gas emission is negligible, there is no compulsion to reduce emissions under the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change. The fossil fuel consumption, one of the key contributors to climate change, is only 12 percent of the total energy consumption in Nepal.

Authorities, however, said actions are required to limit harmful emissions by promoting cleaner technologies as climate change is already impacting various sectors, including agriculture, energy, forests, biodiversity, tourism and physical infrastructures.

Similarly, formulation and implementation of a low carbon economic development strategy that supports

climate-resilient socio-economic development by 2014 is one of the targets of the Climate Change Policy 201.

According to the findings of the Nepal Climate Vulnerability Team, the average temperature rise until 2030, 2060 and 2090 would be at 1.4, 2.8 and 4.7 degree Celsius respectively.

A MoSTE report also estimates that gross domestic product will see loss between 1.5 and 2 percent annually due to the negative impacts of

climate change in various

productive sectors.