Nepal and India establish a business agreement for four petroleum projects.

In New Delhi on Thursday, Nepal and India inked a business-to-business framework agreement to develop multiple petroleum projects. Environmentalists have been calling for the cessation of new investments in fossil fuel pipelines, citing Nepal as having all viable and cleaner alternatives.

The event occurs one week after KP Sharma Oli, the prime minister of Nepal, spoke for climate justice during his speech to the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York. He informed the assembly of Nepal's intention to reach net-zero emissions five years ahead of the global objective by 2045.

The second Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) of Nepal, which sets forth its aggressive goals for the following ten years to cut emissions and assist vulnerable areas in adapting to the effects of climate change, has been criticized by environmentalists as having been reversed by the country's policies.

Nepal's mitigation measures are outlined in the NDC, and they include managing forests, promoting electric mobility, and using renewable energy sources.

The Indian government will construct a 50-kilometer cross-border pipeline connecting Siliguri, India, and Charali, Jhapa, as per the terms of the business-to-business agreement.

A smart green field terminal with 18,900 kilometers of capacity is planned for Charali. A funding from India is being used to construct both projects.

The second Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) of Nepal, which sets forth its aggressive goals for the following ten years to cut emissions and assist vulnerable areas in adapting to the effects of climate change, has been criticized by environmentalists as having been reversed by the country's policies.

Nepal's mitigation measures are outlined in the NDC, and they include managing forests, promoting electric mobility, and using renewable energy sources.

The Indian government will construct a 50-kilometer cross-border pipeline connecting Siliguri, India, and Charali, Jhapa, as per the terms of the business-to-business agreement.

A smart green field terminal with 18,900 kilometers of capacity is planned for Charali. A funding from India is being used to construct both projects.

In the presence of Pankaj Jain, secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Satish Kumar, chairman of Indian Oil, the agreement was signed in New Delhi by Senthil Kumar, director of Indian Oil Corporation, and Chandika Prasad Bhatta, managing director of Nepal Oil Corporation, according to a statement released by the latter company.

According to the announcement, the Indian government has also consented to authorize construction of a 62-kilometer petroleum pipeline from Amalekhgunj to Lothar, Chitwan, Nepal. "An agreement was also reached to construct a smart green field terminal with a capacity of 91,900 kiloliters, with technical assistance from India and an investment from Nepal Oil Corporation."

A grant of Rs. 15 billion would be given by India to the three petroleum projects in Nepal.

Regarding the length of the supply agreement, Nepal's stance is ambiguous under the business-to-business agreement, which is a commercial contract between two companies.

"It was decided upon during the government-to-government agreement that all four projects would be finished in 54 months," Nepal Oil Corporation deputy director Manoj Thakur stated. "Work will soon begin."

“Once we hand over the land to Indian Oil Corporation, the Indian side will design the project,” he stated.

The project design is projected to take 3-6 months to complete.

According to Thakur, the land purchase in Jhapa and Chitwan is already complete.

According to an energy expert, the government's investment in petroleum infrastructure could be detrimental to both the private sector and the nation of Nepal, given the latter is actively investing in the hydro sector.

An environmental specialist named Bhushan Tuladhar told the Post in a recent interview that Nepal must switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy to lower its steadily rising trade imbalance.

"The government should invest in renewable hydropower, cross-border energy trade, and the installation of EV charging stations instead of fuel pipelines."

The prime minister stated at the UNGA that Nepal, which is the 20th most disaster-prone country in the world, is severely affected by climate change and among the most vulnerable countries to it.

Nepal's forests, mountains, and rivers have been improving the condition of our world. We still experience the worst effects of climate change despite our best efforts. We demand climate justice in this situation," the prime minister declared.

The International Energy Agency demanded in 2021 that all new funding for fossil fuel delivery projects, including pipelines, be stopped immediately.

It called for the quick adoption of renewable energy sources including solar and wind power as well as a massive R&D program to create future technologies like improved batteries, hydrogen energy production, and atmospheric CO2 removal.

According to the report, Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector, current commitments to reduce CO2 emissions "would fall well short" of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and preventing global temperature increases from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) due to the continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the International Energy Agency, adopting "an unprecedented transformation of how energy is produced, transported, and used globally" is necessary if the world is to prevent disruptive climate change. This road is described as "viable" but "narrow."

The organization also demands that the capacity of wind and solar electricity be quadrupled over the next ten years and that a global campaign be launched to implement 4% yearly increases in energy efficiency by 2030.

This swift move away from fossil fuels is also necessary to supply electricity to the 2.6 billion people who do not currently have access to clean cooking technologies, or 785 million people worldwide.

According to the International Energy Agency, the combination of these steps to wean the economy off fossil fuels will result in an additional $5 trillion in energy investments by 2030, the creation of millions of jobs, and a 4% increase in the global gross domestic product above business as usual in 2030.

Petroleum goods were imported into Nepal for a total of Rs337.34 billion in the most recent fiscal year, or almost 20 percent of the nation's overall import costs, according to the Department of Customs.

The main imports into Nepal are petroleum products. The nation is entirely dependent on India for this.

This swift move away from fossil fuels is also necessary to supply electricity to the 2.6 billion people who do not currently have access to clean cooking technologies, or 785 million people worldwide.

According to the International Energy Agency, the combination of these steps to wean the economy off fossil fuels will result in an additional $5 trillion in energy investments by 2030, the creation of millions of jobs, and a 4% increase in the global gross domestic product above business as usual in 2030.

Petroleum goods were imported into Nepal for a total of Rs337.34 billion in the most recent fiscal year, or almost 20 percent of the nation's overall import costs, according to the Department of Customs.

The main imports into Nepal are petroleum products. The nation is entirely dependent on India for this.

In order to meet its goal of having net-zero emissions by 2045, the government of Nepal has also unveiled an ambitious roadmap for hydropower.

Nepal has initiated a transportation sector strategy aimed at increasing the sales of electric vehicles (EVs) to 60 percent of all four-wheeler public passenger vehicle sales and 90 percent of all private passenger vehicle sales, including two-wheelers, by 2030.

To promote electricity and decrease imports of fossil fuels, significant tax breaks have been granted on electric vehicle imports.

In addition, the government wants to build 500 large-scale biogas facilities, 200,000 residential biogas plants, and 500,000 upgraded cooking stoves, mostly in rural areas.

By 2030, twenty-five percent of Nepali households will primarily cook on electric stoves. Nepal would have to invest $25 billion to reach this goal.

Politicians in Nepal have been promising to go to sustainable energy for a long time. However, experts claim that the other side is constructing an absurd number of petroleum-related projects, making the term "clean energy" meaningless.