The BRANNGO Environment and Climate Change Working Group has been set up as a forum in which to discuss these important topics, following the Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021.

The Conference was attended by the Nepalese Prime Minister and Foreign Minister as well as a delegation of subject matter experts.  Among them was Abhishek Shrestha, a well-known activist on climate matters and Director of the Digo Bikas Institute.

In a presentation to BRANNGO on 8th January 2022, Abhishek shared his views on the conference.  His general conclusion was that it had limited success, principally because no funding was committed to the ‘loss and damage’ aspects of climate change (as opposed to ‘adaptation’, for which several countries committed funds).  However, Nepal made notable commitments, including:

• Net zero carbon emissions by 2045.
• 15% clean energy by 2030.
• 45% forest cover maintained by 2030.

Following the presentation, discussion identified that simply having high-level government policies in place and securing funding is not enough; change needs to be made at local level if improvements are to be achieved.

The presentation was recorded and BRANNGO members can view it in on the ‘Briefings’ page of the Members’ Area (restricted access) here.