In our case, even if the average temperature rise is limited to 1.5 degrees, it is estimated that the temperature in the Himalayan region will rise above 2 degrees, and about one-third of the snow in the Himalayan region will melt, impacting the sustainable livelihoods of the not only the vulnerable mountain communities but also those living downstream and beyond
Fears are running high in Nepal's Himalayan region after an avalanche fell from Tukuche Himal of Mustang in mid-November.
Unprecedented rains in rain shadow areas like Manang and Mustang have raised the eyebrows of many scientists studying the impacts of climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region. Destruction of the Melamchi drinking water project and recent loss of agricultural products due to the unseasonal rains at the end of October are a few cases of Nepal's climate change-induced disasters.
The Paris Climate Agreement aims to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. At the UNFCCC COP26 Glasgow Conference, all countries reaffirmed their commitment.
But the promises made at the conference and the policies presented are not on the path of limiting the temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In our case, even if the average temperature rise is limited to 1.5 degrees, it is estimated that the temperature in the Himalayan region will rise above 2 degrees, and about one third of the snow in the Himalayan region will melt, impacting the sustainable livelihoods of the not only the vulnerable mountain communities but also those living downstream and beyond.
The bitter truth about the climate crisis is, first, it is man-made, caused by greenhouse gases, emitted by human activities. Second, it is caused by the industrialised Western nations and by large countries, such as India and China.
Third, those who contributed the least to the climate crisis are suffering the most from its impacts. The wealthiest 1 per cent of the world's population is responsible for the emission of more than twice as much carbon dioxide as the poorer half of the world from 1990 to 2015, according to a research conducted by Oxfam.
Therefore, the climate crisis will be not only unusual but also unequal and unjust.
To draw the attention of global actors, the Government of Nepal in 2009 hosted a cabinet meeting at Kalapatthar, Everest region, ahead of the Copenhagen climate conference. This was done to show the world how rising temperature was threatening the Himalayan glaciers. At the conference, Nepal proposed the Mountain Alliance Initiative aiming at developing a political block during the UNFCCC negotiation bringing in all mountainous countries. As a follow-up of the Initiative, the government hosted an International Conference on Mountains and Climate Change in April 2012. The conference adopted a 10-point Kathmandu Call for Action, calling on UN Member states, UN, development partners and multilateral organisations to ensure an adequate and effective flow of financial resources to mountainous countries to address the increasing impact of climate change.
However, the mountain momentum didn't continue in a coordinated approach to enhance the visibility of mountain issues in the global processes. This is the third time that Nepal has participated in the UN Conference on Climate Change with the participation of the Head of the Government.
Earlier, in 2009, the then Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and in 2018 President Bidhya Devi Bhandari represented Nepal. During COP26 Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba urged world leaders to recognise the specific climate vulnerability of the high mountains and accord high priority to the mountain agenda in all climate-related negotiations.
Also, he called upon the Parties to agree on making loss and damage a stand-alone agenda for negotiations and support the framework of additional financing for it. This revealed that Nepal gives high priority to climate change.
The term cryosphere is mentioned in the Glasgow Climate Pact, although it does not directly refer to the mountains of Nepal.
Further, COP26 chair Alok Sharma highlighted the drought and rains of Nepal's Mustang at the Glasgow conference. This has become the basis for raising the issue of mountainous areas in a more powerful way. The UK Government has pledged $250 million to conduct studies, research and programmes on the impact of climate change on the Hindu Kush Himalayas, current conditions and livelihoods. Similarly, the U.S. government has also expressed its commitment to assist the countries in the Himalayan region.
As per the COP agreement, the financial obligations of the developed nations for adaptation will double in 2025 compared to the financial obligations they fulfilled in 2019. However, it has not been easy to bring such assistance to the country and mobilise it to reach the target group.
It is the responsibility of the state to take initiatives so that local, provincial and federal governments make their development activities climate-friendly, reduce the risk of climate-related disasters and extreme events, and increase the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities and mainstream it into the planning and budgeting process.
As a mountainous country with eight of the world's 14 mountains above 8,000 meters, Nepal has been expressing concerns over the impacts of climate change on the mountains at international forums utilising the LDC group. The government should strongly table the mountain agenda during the negotiation process in the days to come as it graduates to a middle-income developing country from a least developing country after 2026. As climate negotiations are evolving, the context is changing swiftly. Nepal needs to reinvent itself in the changed context and prepare its position. This requires broader political intervention and cooperation.
The mountain and climate change agenda must be the political agenda.
Promotion and strengthening of regional cooperation at all levels across the mountain region and downstream and taking actions on a local, national, regional and global scale should be the urgent priority to improve mountain livelihoods, tackling poverty and inequality, for inclusive development and leaving no one behind.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 17, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.