Major Political Parties Prioritize Climate Change in Manifestos Amid Growing National Crisis

Kathmandu. Major political parties have significantly incorporated the issue of climate change into their manifestos. This elevation in priority comes as the country faces substantial problems due to climate change, which is beginning to affect public life.

Although Nepal's role in causing climate change is minimal, the country is highly vulnerable to its impacts. The visible problems in the Himalayan region have prompted political parties to place this issue at the forefront of their policy agendas. Both the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal have clearly included climate change issues in their manifestos. Other political parties have also included this topic, making it clear that this is a shared concern.

There is less snow in the Himalayas. Nepal faces significant problems and complexities every year due to excessive rainfall, low rainfall, and unseasonal precipitation. Water sources in rural areas are drying up. People are forced to wander in search of drinking water. Although clean drinking water is a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution, ordinary citizens are suffering due to the scarcity of sources.

The Communist Party of Nepal has prioritized an organic, environmentally friendly, and climate-resilient agricultural system based on biodiversity. The CPN's resolution is to increase production and declare the country an organic nation. The CPN's policy is to control harmful chemical pesticides and conserve biodiversity and indigenous crops. The CPN has included in its commitment paper a program to ban the use of 'GMO' crops based on public health and biosafety. This is an important foundation for fighting climate change.

The CPN has emphasized the promotion of a green economy. Industries, businesses, offices, and institutions must adopt environmentally friendly methods. The party aims to create a clear legal and institutional basis for carbon trading by formulating policies for carbon pricing. The CPN has included in its manifesto the provision for encouraging projects that reduce carbon emissions and the regulation of the production, purchase, sale, and trading of carbon credits through new policies.

In the context of Nepal emphasizing the use of renewable energy to achieve the goal of 'Net Zero Emission' by 2045, the CPN has placed the ambitious goal of gradually reducing carbon emissions as a top priority. The party aims to operate adaptation and mitigation programs to reduce the risks posed by rising global temperatures and climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions on people's lives.

The CPN has put forward a plan to internationalize the issues of rising global temperatures and climate change, draw global attention to the risks posed by the climate crisis in Himalayan countries, and initiate the formation of a network of concerned nations under Nepal's leadership.

The CPN plans to launch a 'Save the Himalayas' campaign and take special diplomatic and technical initiatives to maximize the utilization of funds and other opportunities from financial resources such as the Green Climate Fund and Loss and Damage Fund established by global agreements related to climate change. The CPN has documented as a new program the construction of disaster mitigation infrastructure in areas at potential risk of disaster and the effective implementation of preparedness mechanisms.

The CPN's commitment paper includes a policy to implement immediate relief, rehabilitation, and long-term livelihood plans for families affected by natural disasters such as floods, landslides, and earthquakes, and to focus on disaster risk and its management when formulating development plans.

The Congress plans to implement the national commitment to become a net-zero emission nation by 2045 by making structural improvements in the energy, transport, industry, and infrastructure sectors.

Nepal has made various commitments in international forums related to climate change. Previously, while participating in the international climate conference (COP-26), Nepal announced its goal to become a net-zero carbon emission nation by 2045. Accordingly, the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and adaptation plans were prepared. The Congress has made various commitments to ensure the necessary financial resources, technology, institutional capacity, and a clear action plan to translate the declared commitments into concrete results.

The Congress's manifesto, published for the House of Representatives election to be held on Falgun 21, also mentions the implementation of the national commitment to become a net-zero emission nation by 2045 by making structural improvements in the energy, transport, industry, and infrastructure sectors.

The manifesto includes a goal to significantly increase the proportion of clean and renewable energy to make the energy used in industrial and domestic sectors environmentally friendly. The Congress is committed to minimizing the serious crisis caused by increasing pollution, climate change, and natural disasters on public health and livelihood through environmental and forest conservation, carbon emission reduction, green economy, and disaster preparedness.

The Congress pledges to implement strict national environmental standards for air, water, land, and food systems, thereby realizing the fundamental right to live in a clean and healthy environment guaranteed by the constitution. Similarly, the Congress aims for green development with a balance between development and the environment.

The Congress is committed to maintaining a balance between development and the environment by mandating the use of low-carbon and environmentally friendly technologies in infrastructure, urban development, industry, and public services. The Congress has stated its commitment to conserve forests, biodiversity, land and water resources, wetlands, lakes and ponds, and natural ecosystems, maintaining the country's total forest cover at a minimum of 46 percent.

The party stated that it will strategically, results-oriented, and coordinatedly mobilize climate finance received from international sources such as the Green Climate Fund, Loss and Damage Fund, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank in the coming days. Furthermore, the Congress has stated its intention to build the necessary legal and institutional structures to identify, secure, and effectively utilize international and domestic climate finance sources by attracting private sector and foreign investment.

It has been stated that adaptation programs, insurance, employment, and direct assistance programs will be implemented focusing on women, indigenous, and marginalized communities for climate justice.

The Communist Party of Nepal (UML) aims to guarantee energy security by completing projects for the production, transmission, and distribution of renewable energy, including hydropower, solar, and green hydrogen, and to develop Nepal as a clean energy export hub for South Asia. The party aims to double electricity production and per capita electricity consumption.

UML has put forward a program to ensure drinking water supply by mobilizing a certain percentage of available climate finance in the area of climate adaptation towards climate-resilient programs such as the conservation of water sources. UML's program includes ensuring a balance between biodiversity, settlement expansion, and human activities, and conserving ecosystem services such as water sources, soil fertility, food production, local climate, and forests. Furthermore, UML has prioritized the conservation of water sources, lakes, rivers, wetlands, and other catchment areas.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party has put forward a program to link climate change adaptation and resilience with development planning, infrastructure design, and budget processes. The party's plan is to approve a national climate finance strategy and conduct high-level diplomatic advocacy to secure the compensation and grants Nepal is entitled to from global climate funds. The party has included in its commitment paper the plan to raise the issue of climate change as climate justice in international forums to save the Himalayas and the environment, and to elevate Nepal above the identity of a victim nation.

The party has a program to approve a climate diplomacy roadmap and to strengthen Nepal's agendas and demands in upcoming climate conferences at a high and technical level. Similarly, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Ujyalo Nepal Party, and others have also included climate change issues in their manifestos.