KATHMANDU: Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal formally launched the roadmap for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-7) on Monday.
The roadmap aims to provide access to affordable and clean energy to all by 2030, increase the production of renewable energy and increase energy efficiency.
It needs to ensure sustained economic growth as well as respond to increasing energy demand, reduce emissions, and consider and capitalise on the interlinkages between Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) and other SDGs.
Nepal has already initiated and published the SDG roadmap back in 2016/17 through its National Planning Commission and set periodic targets of all three sub-goals.
The energy transition pathways for the 2030 sets targets that all of Nepal’s populations will have access to electricity and means for clean cooking by 2030.
Launching the roadmap, Minister Bhusal said that the support of development partners and international agencies was needed to achieve the sustainable development goals.
Stating that Nepal had made a lot of efforts in the energy sector and had more to do, Minister Bhusal said, “The government has approved the ‘Nepal Energy Efficiency Strategy, 2018.”
Stating that preparations had been made to bring electric buses into operation for public transport, she said, “Recently, 15 charging stations have come into operation and more than 50 such stations are being constructed.”
The roadmap also seeks to achieve 50 per cent share of renewable energy by 2030 with installation of hydropower having a capacity of over 15,000 MW.
It has also specified improvements in energy efficiency by reducing energy use in production and consumption activities to achieve 50 per cent of mobility based on electricity in Nepal.
Stating that the Electricity Regulation Commission had been established and it had started functioning since May 2019, Minister Bhusal said that the new electricity bill had been submitted to the parliament for discussion.
She also mentioned that the renewable energy and energy efficiency bill was being drafted.
Nepal is using clean energy for cooking, she said, adding that more than 1.5 million households have been using improved cooking stoves (ICS) and 500,000 households have used biogas plants.