Localising climate action

There is a need to strengthen the institutional capacity of local units for effective climate governance.

The impacts of climate change go beyond spatial and temporal boundaries. Despite being a minimal contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Nepal has been ranked one of the most vulnerable countries facing climate change repercussions. The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Index , which measures a country’s current vulnerability to climate disruptions and assesses its readiness to improve resilience, ranked Nepal in the 125th position among 192 countries in 2021. Research revealed that the fragile and rugged topographic situation and ineffective response mechanisms and strategies for dealing with natural hazards aggravated Nepal’s vulnerability. The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology also reports that the temperature in Nepal has increased by 0.056 degrees Celsius annually on average, with the highest rate occurring at higher altitudes in the Himalayan regions. Similarly, the precipitation pattern is unusual, especially in the higher mountains.