The high-level summits at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, also called COP26, have wrapped up, and extensive negotiations have begun. Although the spirit of the conference was dampened by a few notable absences, including that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, the conference has made some significant commitments towards slowing the rate of global warming and dealing with the effects of climate change. The commitments range from cutting down on methane and coal to ending deforestation. Notably, India and the United Kingdom launched a solar Green Grids Initiative to foster interconnected solar energy infrastructure. The Climate Vulnerable Forum, a group of 48 countries that face high risks of climate change, urged rich countries to help them transition to green economies and deal with the impacts of climate change.

Nepal’s presence at the conference was not unimpressive, with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba expressing an ambitious commitment to decarbonising all sectors of the economy, increasing clean energy usage to 15 percent and forest cover to 45 percent by 2030, and reaching net-zero emission by 2045. Deuba also expressed hope that Nepal, owing to its abundance in water, forest and biodiversity resources, can be a leader in sharing nature-based climate solutions in the region. Deuba also called upon the parties to consider loss and damage resulting from climate change a significant part of the negotiations. Importantly, Deuba made sure to highlight the concerns of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, calling for a scaling up of financial, technological and capacity-building resources. Speaking specifically on the crisis faced by mountain countries at high risk of climate change, Deuba urged global leaders to prioritise the mountain agenda in all climate-related negotiations.

The question that remains is whether the countries that make grand commitments at the climate change conference will do actual work at home to bring real change. With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledging to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, and with China failing to make an unequivocal commitment (although it had last year set a target of net-zero emissions by 2060), questions remain as to how Nepal, without a clear roadmap of its own, and depending heavily on both countries for trade and development, will reach its ambitious goal. What is to be noted is that most countries that have committed to achieving their targets of net-zero emission have yet to produce clear roadmaps as to how they will achieve those goals. In that sense, the conference risks becoming redundant if the parties, significantly the wealthier and heavily industrialised ones that are the most significant contributors to the current crisis, are not serious about springing into action right away.

What the conference has established, though, is that there is no running away from the effects of climate change. If net-zero carbon emission is the best bet to tackle the crisis, they should come together to fulfil their commitments and save the planet for future generations. The unrestrained race for growth and consumption after the industrial age brought us where we are today. There is now no paucity of extensive discourse on what we have done to the planet and what lays ahead. However, rather than take concrete steps towards reducing the carbon footprint, the current generation continues to expose its greed to accumulate and consume, leaving the planet vulnerable. Now, it is time for action. Even as it seeks accountability from the big powers that have contributed to climate change, Nepal, too, needs to stand firm in its commitment and act responsibly when it comes to saving the planet.