Shrestha v. Office of the Prime Minister et al.

A case study on the legal action Shrestha v. Office of the Prime Minister et al., in which the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered the government to enact new climate change legislation to meet domestic constitutional rights and international obligations under the Paris Agreement and UNFCCC.

• Environmental lawyer Padam Bahadur Shrestha petitioned the Supreme Court of Nepal to compel the government to enact a new climate change law, asserting that the Environmental Protection Act of 1997 was insufficient and the Climate Change Policy of 2011 had not been implemented. The applicant argued that government inaction violated the Constitution of Nepal's guarantees of a healthy environment and a dignified life, as well as commitments under the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC.
• The Supreme Court of Nepal decided on December 25, 2018, that a new law was necessary for Nepal to fulfill its domestic constitutional obligations and international commitments under the Paris Agreement. The court ordered the government to create a new law to promote low carbon technologies, reduce fossil fuel consumption, and manage climate change mitigation and adaptation. Additionally, the court mandated the development of legal and scientific instruments to provide compensation to residents harmed by environmental degradation and pollution.
• Following the Supreme Court's decision, the government of Nepal enacted the Forests Act of 2019 and the Environment Protection Act of 2019 to address climate adaptation and mitigation needs.
• The case is part of a broader trend of climate litigation in South Asia, where countries such as Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are identified as high or very high risk for climate change impacts.

APA

Natural Justice (n.d.). Shrestha v. Office of the Prime Minister et al. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Shrestha-v.-Office-of-the-Prime-Minister-et-al..pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. Shrestha v. Office of the Prime Minister et al. n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Shrestha-v.-Office-of-the-Prime-Minister-et-al..pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=Shrestha v. Office of the Prime Minister et al. |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Shrestha-v.-Office-of-the-Prime-Minister-et-al..pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljusticendshrestha, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{Shrestha v. Office of the Prime Minister et al.}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Shrestha-v.-Office-of-the-Prime-Minister-et-al..pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }