Adopting a Low-Emission and Climate-Resilient Development Pathway in Nepal

The FWG aims to support the official UNFCCC processes as they relate to finance and is organised around two complementary themes: the provision of support to developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change and the consistency of finance flows with low-emission, climate-resilient development, as outlined in Article 2.1(c) of the Paris Agreement. [...] Nepal has made significant progress in integrating climate change into public financial management with the introduction of the Climate Change Budget Code (CCBC) in 2013, following recommendations from the Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR) of 2011, and the Climate Change Financing Framework (CCFF) in 2017, to mainstream climate change into planning and budgeting at all go. [...] To do this, Government of Nepal (GoN) policies and those of development partners must address the existing institutional barriers in financing climate action, and must encourage and enhance the engagement of the private sector to address the adversities induced by climate change. [...] In a move towards greening the economy, the top body of Nepali private sector – the Federation of the Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) – established the Energy Efficiency Centre (EEC) to facilitate Nepali industry and enterprises to adopt energy-efficient technologies, processes and practices. [...] The GFT and ESRM provide a framework to assess and manage environmental and social risks in lending/investments, but one cannot ignore the failure to implement the guidelines for loans that amount to more than NPR10 million (excluding the exemptions made in the guidelines), as both the lender and borrower (the private sector) are reluctant, except in the cases of hydropower, cement and large infra.