Nepal's fragile energy: climate justice meets tough choices

Nepal is grappling with the severe consequences of climate change, including melting glaciers and increased extreme rainfall, despite contributing minimally to global emissions. The nation is rightfully demanding climate justice from historical polluters responsible for this crisis. However, Nepal also faces a critical need to examine its own development strategies.

Recent extreme weather events, including floods and landslides, have significantly damaged Nepal's hydropower infrastructure. Twelve operational projects and fifteen under construction were affected, leading to the loss of approximately 431 MW of generation capacity, a tenth of the country's total. This disruption forced Nepal to halt electricity exports and import power.

This situation underscores a crucial distinction between climate hazards and climate vulnerability, which is influenced by human decisions on where and how development occurs. Nepal's hydropower expansion, primarily relying on run-of-river systems, is particularly exposed to volatile climate conditions and fragile geology.

The nation's future energy planning must integrate climate resilience. While hydropower is clean energy, it is not inherently climate-resilient. Diversifying the energy mix with options like solar and storage could reduce the concentration of risk in its fragile mountain geography, transforming energy policy into a climate adaptation strategy.

This approach is vital for all climate-vulnerable nations. Nepal must balance its legitimate demand for international climate finance with a commitment to building a development model that avoids creating future vulnerabilities based on outdated climate assumptions. Careful development, not just ambition, is needed to prevent extreme weather from becoming national crises.