On July 23, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a landmark advisory opinion, calling on countries to align their climate commitments with ambitious adaptation and mitigation targets while upholding human rights, equity, and justice.
The ICJ determined that the 1.5°C temperature target is legally binding under the Paris Agreement and that all states, particularly the largest emitters, must take ambitious mitigation measures in line with the best available science. The Court urged that countries have responsibilities to act on climate change not only under climate treaties but also under human rights law and general international law. This means that even if a country is not part of a climate treaty, or decides to leave one—as the US once did with the Paris Agreement—it still has legal duties to address climate change.
Nepal, which strongly supported this opinion, now holds both a moral and legal responsibility to put it into action. The country has already taken important steps by submitting its Third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) under the Paris Agreement, with higher ambitions. NDC 3.0 goes beyond climate targets, highlighting the links between climate change and human rights, poverty reduction, gender equality, and a just transition.
For Nepal, the Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-30) offers a major opportunity to stand firmly behind its NDC and Biennial Transparency Report (BTR), while urging other nations to honour their commitments. Ahead of COP-30 in Belém, preparing a clear “Nepal’s Priorities and Key Asks for COP-30” document would be an important entry point to showcase national initiatives and set the agenda.
Policy Progress
Despite contributing minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions, Nepal has made remarkable achievements in advancing climate-integrated policies and institutions. Its timely submission of NDC 3.0 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) underscores the country’s commitment to the 1.5°C pathway.
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The Constitution of Nepal guarantees the right to a healthy environment for its citizens and promotes sustainable development. Legal documents such as the Forest Act (2019) and the Environment Protection Act (2019) have already incorporated actions for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Nepal’s 16th National Development Plan has identified climate change as a barrier to advancing sustainable development and has emphasised the promotion of green and resilient infrastructure.
At the sub-national level, in line with the Second NDC, all seven provinces have already drafted Provincial Climate Change Strategies and Action Plans. Moreover, nearly 50% of Nepal’s 753 local governments have formulated Environment and Natural Resource Conservation Acts, including climate adaptation provisions. The Red Book of Nepal categorises climate-related activities into “highly relevant,” “relevant,” and “neutral.” Almost 30% of the national annual budget falls under the climate-relevant category. The government has committed, through climate change policies, to ensure that 80% of international climate finance will be channelled to the local level for climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.
Institutional Landscape
Nepal has built a strong climate governance system at all levels. At the national level, key institutions include the National Council for Environmental Protection and Climate Change Management and the Inter-ministerial Climate Change Coordination Committees. Within the Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoFE), the Climate Change Management Division and its sections provide leadership.
At the provincial level, Climate Change Coordination Committees are in place, while provinces such as Lumbini and Sudurpaschim have established dedicated climate divisions under their respective ministries of forests and environment. At the local level, nearly half of the municipalities and rural municipalities now have environment and disaster management units. Many of them are actively setting up specialised sections to drive climate and disaster-related action.
Challenges Ahead
Yet, translating policy into practice remains fraught with challenges. Analysts point to weak coordination across sectors, limited institutional capacity, and human resource shortages. Nearly 80% of climate-related posts at provincial and local levels remain vacant, while the functions of existing staff are often poorly defined.
Securing international climate finance is another hurdle. Lengthy global approval procedures, coupled with domestic procedural delays and limited technical capacities, often prevent the timely execution of projects. Ironically, while Kathmandu hosts ample expertise for drafting policies, sub-national governments—where actual implementation takes place—suffer from acute capacity shortages.
The Road to COP-30
As Nepal prepares its Priorities and Key Asks for COP-30, the document must go beyond high-level policy declarations and position the country as both a responsible global actor and a vulnerable nation demanding climate justice. This means outlining practical steps to strengthen national capacity, such as developing mechanisms to tap into different funding windows.
Equally, the document should not only focus on institutional priorities but also serve as a situational outlook on Nepal’s lived climate realities. Rising temperatures, unusual droughts in Madhesh Province, erratic rainfall, melting glaciers, GLOFs, and more frequent floods and landslides are already threatening lives, livelihoods, biodiversity, and cultural heritage. For many communities, these impacts translate into food insecurity, displacement, loss of ancestral land, and erosion of social and cultural ties—dimensions that go beyond economic loss.
Therefore, Nepal’s COP-30 agenda must amplify the voices of the most vulnerable communities who bear the brunt of climate change despite contributing the least to it. By doing so, Nepal can push for stronger commitments on adaptation, mitigation, climate finance, and technology transfer, while also advocating for a just transition that ensures equity, inclusion, and sustainability.
If well crafted, this document can become Nepal’s entry point at COP-30 in Belém, not only to showcase national ambition through NDC 3.0 and its alignment with the ICJ’s opinion but also to call on the global community to match words with action.
(The author is a National Project Manager, CBIT-WWF Nepal and Sigdel is a Policy Analyst.)
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