The document ‘Policy Roadmap for Nepal to Transition to 100% RE by 2050’ was launched at the National Conference on 100% Renewable Energy: Accelerating RE. Implementing NDC. Advancing Just Transition in Kathmandu, on Thursday.

The document aims to complement the policy pathways for Nepal to transition towards 100% Renewable Energy (RE) by 2050 to support in meeting the national commitments made for the energy sector and in obtaining green and inclusive low carbon economic development. It is expected to support policymakers and RE practitioners by helping them identify key barriers to transition to 100% RE pathways and proposing recommendations to achieve them.

The document was launched in the presence of more than 100 participants across varied stakeholders — government, civil society, business and academia in sectors adjacent to climate change and energy.

Deepak Bahadur Singh, Chairperson of the Infrastructure Development Committee under the House of Representatives of the federal parliament, was the chief guest at the event chaired by Nawa Raj Dhakal, Executive Director of Alternate Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC). Gopal Prasad Sigdel, Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, was the special guest at the event held at Hotel Yak and Yeti.

“In our journey towards 100% RE, it is important to look deeper into Nepal’s Nationally Determined Contributions and find areas of emphasis within them. We found that residential, industrial and transportation sectors were the sectors where traditional energy sources and fossil fuels were most prominent,” said AEPC Executive Director Dhakal, remarking about the need for the Policy Road Map document.

“Access is not enough in these sectors, we need to be more dedicated to these sectors and give more emphasis. Hence, these sectors have been included in the policy roadmap. This document will serve as a guide for both the government as well as for those working in the private sector,” Dhakal added.

The Policy Roadmap has been prepared through a collaborative and evidence-based approach by engaging with key energy stakeholders from the Multi-Actor Partnerships (MAPs) platform. It specifically focuses on the N-1.5oC and provides the roadmap for the three priority sectors — residential, industrial, and transportation.

The national conference was organised by Prakriti Resources Center (PRC) and WWF Nepal in collaboration with AEPC with support from the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany via the MAPs platform for Implementing Nationally Determined Contributions for All in the Global South project.

The main objective of the event was to bring multi-stakeholders together to discuss challenges, opportunities and the way forward on the accelerating RE initiatives for NDC implementation and advance the national discourse and build a collective vision towards just energy transition with 100% RE and a resilient energy system to realise net-zero emission by 2045.

Source: Business 360