A book titled 'Leveraging Achievement in Sustainable Energy: Achievement of Sustainable Energy Challenge Fund' was released at the conference.
What you should know
Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Anil Kumar Sinha has said that continuous collaboration among stakeholders is necessary to effectively implement the Government of Nepal's goal of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all as specified in the Constitution of Nepal, 2072 BS. He was speaking at the 'National Conference on Developing Nepal's Green Economy through Implementation of Clean Energy' organized by the Alternative Energy Promotion Center on the occasion of International Clean Energy Day.
The work being done by the Center on renewable energy and energy efficiency has proven to be important in expanding access to clean energy in remote areas of the country and is directly related to the low-carbon development roadmap adopted by the government, he said, adding that these works will directly contribute to Nepal achieving the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2045.
After the approval of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Bill, which is currently in the process of being drafted, a strong legal and regulatory framework will be created for the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Nepal and the institutional restructuring of the Center according to the new act will create a stronger legal basis for integrated operation of renewable energy and energy efficiency activities.
He said that the conclusions and suggestions received from the conference will be an important policy support for the ministry to develop renewable energy and energy efficiency.
At the conference, Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission, Dr. Prakash Kumar Shrestha said that renewable energy and energy efficiency are of great importance in mitigating the negative impacts of global climate change.
Stating that Nepal has been continuously raising issues related to the impact of climate change on less developed countries and its mitigation at the national and international levels, he pointed out that since traditional energy accounts for more than 60 percent of the country's total energy consumption, more work needs to be done in this area to make a leap towards a green economy through the implementation of clean energy.
Since the government has been giving high priority to the development and expansion of renewable energy and energy efficiency in its long-term policies, strategies and periodic plans, it is necessary to provide cheap and accessible energy to all sectors by increasing competitiveness in energy production.
Energy Secretary Chiranjivi Chataut said that the program provided an opportunity for the relevant stakeholders to be present on one platform to share their experiences of the current status, achievements, opportunities and challenges of clean energy use in Nepal for the development of a green economy.
To mitigate the impact of climate change, it is necessary to reduce the use of fossil fuels and increase investment in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency for the development of clean, affordable, sustainable and reliable energy, he said.
He said that the program based on the Sustainable Energy Challenge Fund should be continued as the achievements of the renewable energy projects run by the Center with the support of the Sustainable Energy Challenge Fund have been very good in the recent past. The recently approved 'Carbon Trading Regulations, 2082' has set the necessary legal basis for operating carbon trading and the regulations have paved the way for the development of additional carbon projects.
Executive Director of the Center, Nawaraj Dhakal, gave a presentation on the Sustainable Energy Challenge Fund-based program, the achievements achieved by the Center so far, the Center's contribution to low-carbonization and the Center's future roadmap. Dhakal said that the center has contributed to low carbonization (decarbonization) in the household, industrial, commercial, transportation, agricultural and other sectors through renewable energy and energy efficiency.
He said that the Sustainable Energy Challenge Fund has been successfully implemented as the latest program framework with the support of the Government of Nepal and development partners for development, and he believed that the development partners will continue to provide support for its further expansion.
The European Union's Ambassador to Nepal, Véronique Lorenzo, said that investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency should be increased to achieve the sustainable development goals. He said that the program based on the Sustainable Energy Challenge Fund implemented with the support of the European Union and the UK government has achieved significant achievements, and said that such programs will continue to be supported by the European Union.
A book titled 'Leveraging Achievement in Sustainable Energy: Achievement of Sustainable Energy Challenge Fund', prepared by aggregating the achievements of the programs implemented under the Sustainable Energy Challenge Fund, was released.
Deputy Executive Director of the Center, Dr. Narayan Prasad Adhikari, said that the conference aimed to discuss the country's low-carbonization priorities, identify investment mechanisms, identify low-carbonization opportunities through the carbon market, and strengthen coordination and partnership among stakeholders.
The program included three technical sessions on initiatives related to clean energy and low-carbonization through the carbon market, low-carbonization through energy efficiency, and investment in clean energy and electric vehicles (e-mobility) for low-carbonization.
