Give Impetus To Climate Diplomacy

Yuba Nath Lamsal:---- The August 26 Himalayan flood, also called the Himalayan tsunami, has badly exposed Nepal’s vulnerability to natural calamities. Earthquake, floods, landslides, avalanches, glacial lakes outburst floods, drought and climate-induced menaces are some of the recurrent forms of disaster Nepal often faces. Such disasters cause enormous loss of lives and properties almost every year. Nepal is in the seismic zone and earthquakes often strike, which are natural phenomenon. The nature and geological structure of the Himalayas, which is world’s youngest mountain range formed by the tectonic collision of Eurasian and Indian plates almost 50 million years ago. Natural calamities are beyond human control. However, unsustainable human activities are responsible for some cases of disasters recurrent flash floods, landslides, avalanches and glacial lakes outburst floods. The Himalayas is the source of water for billions of people in Asia and their livelihood is directly linked with the mountains. The major rivers of Asia originate from the Himalayas. According to ICIMOD, the average temperature rise in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region is higher than the global average making Himalayas further vulnerable. Immediate intervention:--- If the present rate of global warming continues unabated, most of the snow in the Himalayas may disappear by the end of this century. In such a scenario, our rivers will dry up, agriculture would be in jeopardy and livelihood of billions of people may be in peril. Fate of billions of Asian people and Asian civilization are seriously threatened with the tremendous environmental pressure on the Himalayas, which demands serious and immediate intervention and actions for saving these mountains. Being a frontline country of the Himalayas, Nepal may be hit hardest of any kind of disaster that may occur in the region, the case of which is the recent Himalayan floods. Moreover, Himalayas is the highest point on earth and it gives the first indication of any kind of future climatic tragedy the world is likely to face. Thus, it is also the responsibility of the world to contribute for saving the Himalayas and its ecosystem. The greenhouse gas emission is a major cause of global warming leading to environmental devastation in many parts of the world including the Himalayas. Nepal’s contribution to greenhouse gas emission is nominal but it is bearing the brunt of it in the form of calamities. The August 26 devastation may be a mere symptom and real and more devastation is likely to hit in future, for which all of us must remain prepared. This is a global problem and its solution must be found through a global approach. The entire world needs to adopt a common strategy to mitigate climate change impact and recover the damages caused by the calamity. Climate diplomacy has emerged as a new catchphrase. Climate diplomacy implies the inclusion of environmental and climate issues in the overall priority and agenda of foreign policy and diplomacy. It is also an approach that seeks to persuade countries to adopt environment friendly measures in their development agenda and reduce the level of greenhouse gas emission as per the Paris Agreement. For Nepal, the Himalayan disaster demands more pro-active, meaningful and result-oriented climate diplomacy to ensure that friends and partners contribute financially and technically to the cause of climate safeguards and sustainable development of Himalayas. The Himalayan flood was nature’s angry reaction to human encroachment to the realm of nature. Unsustainable human activities and fossil fuel consumption are said to be the main culprits behind global warming and climate change. The Himalayas is not merely mountains but our identity and lifeblood. Our survival depends upon the vitality of Himalayas. Climate diplomacy is more imperative for Nepal to save Himalayas and ultimately to save the humanity. Climate change and environmental issues should no longer be treated merely as a scientific domain but as a political, economic, developmental and diplomatic agenda. Climate change and the environment have been the topics of debate in the international forums for quite some decades since convening the UN Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972. This conference placed environment protection as an international agenda leading to creation of UN Environmental Programme (UNEP). The UN Conference and Environment and Development (UNCED) or Earth Summit was held in Brazil in 1992 which adopted ‘Agenda 21’ calling upon nations to integrate environment with the development agenda. The Kyoto Protocol -1997, COP 15 in Copenhagen, and the Paris Agreement -2015 are some other milestones in international climate diplomacy. UN is holding COP summits regularly where world leaders talk tall on climate change issues and reiterate commitments to save nature and limit temperature rise as stated in the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement seeks to hold average global temperature rise below 2 °C Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit down to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Once they are back home, those commitments and slogans take a back seat in political and development decision-making. Binding treaty : ---- The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted overwhelmingly, which requires developed countries to provide necessary financial, technical and capacity building support to countries that are less endowed with resources and more vulnerable to climate change. Nepal first needs to put forth its claims backed by facts, figures and other scientific evidences on the diplomatic table and in international forums. Based on it, it has to seek necessary financial, technical and other forms of support from developed countries and also from multilateral funding mechanisms like Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, and Loss and Damage Fund. Apart from this, Nepal needs not only to clearly put its position in the UN forums and on the table of bilateral diplomacy and it should also take along other countries together appealing the international community to extend support to the countries vulnerable to climate change. Climate diplomacy should be an integral part of foreign policy because it is directly associated with food security, energy security, and human survival. (The author is a former chief editor of this daily and a former ambassador. lamsalyubanath@gmail.com)