GCHA Submission: Consultation on the Draft NDC of Nepal

The GCHA submission argues that Nepal's climate action should be explicitly linked to public health outcomes to maximize co-benefits and protect vulnerable populations. It recommends strengthening the draft NDC 3.0 by aligning conditional emissions targets with 1.5°C limits, establishing specific targets for black carbon reduction, and creating a dedicated section on air quality. The document highlights significant health risks in Nepal, including a 68% increase in heat stress exposure since the 1990s and rising transmission potential for dengue. It also emphasizes the economic burden of climate-related health issues, noting that heat exposure caused an estimated US$2.8 billion in annual potential income loss between 2014 and 2023, with the agricultural sector bearing 91.5% of that impact.

• Nepal's conditional NDC target is considered 'critically insufficient' by the Climate Action Tracker, implying that if all countries followed this approach, global warming would exceed 4°C, which would be 'catastrophic for human health'.
• Black carbon, resulting from the incomplete combustion of wood, waste, and fossil fuels, is identified as a critical pollutant for Nepal due to its impact on the climate, mountain snow and ice, and human health as a component of PM2.5 air pollution.
• Climate change is increasing health risks in Nepal, specifically regarding heat exposure and infectious diseases: heat stress risk exposure increased by 68% compared to the 1990s, and the transmission potential for dengue by Aedes albopictus mosquitoes increased by 109% from 1951-1960 to 2014-2024.
• Air pollution from human activities caused over 35,000 deaths from PM2.5 in Nepal in 2021, with biomass burning accounting for 47% of these deaths, fossil fuel burning for 27%, and coal burning for 12%.
• The healthcare sector in Nepal contributes 4.1% of total national emissions, necessitating specific mitigation and adaptation actions within the sector.
• Heat exposure has caused severe economic losses in Nepal, including US$0.38 billion in costs related to heat-related mortality in 2023 and an average annual loss of US$2.8 billion in potential income between 2014 and 2023, primarily affecting the agricultural sector (91.5% of the impact).
• The total cost of national health impacts from air pollution in Nepal was US$3.5 billion in 2021.

APA

Global Climate and Health Alliance (2025). GCHA Submission: Consultation on the Draft NDC of Nepal. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Nepal-NDC-Submission.pdf

Chicago

Global Climate and Health Alliance. GCHA Submission: Consultation on the Draft NDC of Nepal. 2025. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Nepal-NDC-Submission.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Global Climate and Health Alliance |title=GCHA Submission: Consultation on the Draft NDC of Nepal |date=April 2025 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Nepal-NDC-Submission.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{globalclimateandhealthalliance2025gcha, author = {{Global Climate and Health Alliance}}, title = {{GCHA Submission: Consultation on the Draft NDC of Nepal}}, publisher = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Nepal-NDC-Submission.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }