The 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris, France would have been a great opportunity to show to the world what Nepal, even with its limited means, is doing to combat climate change. If, on the other hand, Nepal wanted help from other countries to limit its carbon footprint—for instance to move towards environment-friendly electric vehicles or greater solar use—COP21 also offered the perfect platform. But these concerns of Nepal could be ignored when other countries see the country is not serious about its climate commitments. For Nepal is the only country in South Asia that has not submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC)—the mandatory document that outlines individual country's adaption and mitigation measures—for presentation at the conference. Since this document is the basis on which each country's climate commitments are accessed, the failure to submit it on time could compromise Nepal's position. But even as the country has failed to finalize its contribution paper, it is sending a 25-member jumbo delegation to Paris led by Minister for Environment Bishwendra Paswan.The government may as yet hastily prepare its contribution paper before the close of COP21 on December 11th. But the last-minute patch-up job is unlikely to impress many delegates at the conference. Why couldn't the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment prepare the paper in the two years it had for the job? This is a serious offense and those responsible have to be held to account. Nepal is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. The ice-cover of our mountains, Nepal's biggest selling point abroad, is steadily thinning as a result of climate change. This is not only denuding our famed mountains of their beautiful white cover; it could also lead to sudden increases in water volume in the rivers that originate in the Himalayas, resulting in dangerous floods downstream. There are other worrying signs of climate change. Rainfalls are increasingly erratic; so are summer and winter temperatures. Farmers are finding it difficult to plan their crops as they don't know when it will rain or when a sudden downpour will sweep their paddy away. Yields are decreasing. Climate change is, at least in part, responsible for all these phenomena. But why should Nepal suffer when it doesn't contribute to climate change?
But to make a strong moral case before big and rich countries that are responsible for climate change we needed proper homework. Now there is a risk that Nepal will not even be able to present the facts convincingly. But there might still be time to make amends. Nepal can yet make a strong case in the many plenary sessions and focus-group discussions leading up to the final 'Paris Agreement' on December 11th. The focus of Nepal must be to highlight the unique vulnerabilities of LDCs as they struggle to strike a balance between economic growth and environment conservation. It would also be the right occasion to show how Nepali forests have been decimated and thousands of metric tons of polluting carbon released into the atmosphere as a direct result of the Indian economic blockade.
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