Nepal’s 'Crystal Diamonds' vs. Global 'Black Gold': Trapped Between Giants, Can We Still Breathe?
KATHMANDU, Nepal – On a smoggy morning in the Kathmandu Valley, 45-year-old Sita Tamang starts her day early—but not in the capital. In her remote village in Ramechhap, she squats beside a fire made of wood and dung, cooking her family’s meal. The smoke curls upward, merging with the misty hills and casting a visible burden over her daily routine. “We use what we have,” she says. For millions of Nepalis, especially in rural areas, reliance on polluting fuels is not a choice but a बाध्यता—a compulsion born of poverty, limited infrastructure, and inaccessible alternatives.
Back in Kathmandu, the pollution story takes another form. The city roars to life with diesel-chugging microbuses, motorbikes weaving through dust clouds, and towering construction sites spewing thick plumes into the air. “Even walking to work makes me feel exhausted,” says 28-year-old Nisha Bhattarai. “The dust and smoke make everything more difficult. You get home drained and irritable.”
A Crisis Compounded: Pollution in a Fragile Valley
Nepal is geographically boxed in—flanked by two of the most industrialized and polluted nations on the planet: India and China. As emissions and industrial effluents from these economic powerhouses drift across borders, Nepal, a cold mountain nation, becomes collateral damage. Airborne particulates from industrial zones in South Asia settle in Kathmandu Valley, which, because of its bowl-shaped topography, traps them like a lid over a simmering pot.
The situation is dire. The 2018 Environmental Performance Index placed Nepal near the bottom globally in terms of air quality. Kathmandu often sees PM10 levels exceeding 100 µg/m³—five times higher than WHO guidelines. According to the Ministry of Health, in 2019 alone, over 42,100 deaths in Nepal were linked to air pollution.
Vehicular emissions contribute 30% to urban air pollution. An additional 53% comes from unregulated construction dust. Meanwhile, rural Nepal continues to burn firewood, dung, and agricultural residue, contributing heavily to indoor air pollution and forest degradation.
The impacts are multi-dimensional: polluted rivers, declining biodiversity, melting glaciers, and deteriorating public health. Sacred rivers like Bagmati, now choked with waste and sewage, stand as testaments to unchecked urbanization and neglect.
Melting Mountains, Rising Heat: A Climate Warning
Nepal’s mountains, once the epitome of permanence, are melting. According to the 2023 ICIMOD report, glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayas are vanishing at alarming rates. Some projections suggest up to 30% loss within the next two decades, endangering water security for millions across Asia.
The nation’s average annual temperature is increasing by 0.06°C per year—higher than the global mean. This subtle-sounding figure has enormous consequences: unpredictable monsoons, increasing landslides, lower crop productivity, and more severe natural disasters.
The Toll of Majboori: Lives Defined by Compulsion
In rural Nepal, over 25% of households rely exclusively on traditional biomass for cooking. For women like Sita, it’s a matter of survival, not preference. The health toll is devastating: respiratory infections, eye problems, and early deaths.
In urban areas, the story is different but equally grim. The past decade has seen a 96% rise in diesel consumption and a doubling of gasoline imports. For working-class drivers like Rajesh Shrestha, switching to electric vehicles is a distant dream. “I know my old taxi pollutes, but what option do I have?” he asks.
Nepal imports over a quarter of its total energy—mostly fossil fuels. With no domestic oil reserves, the country’s dependence on the “black gold” of foreign markets is both economically and ecologically unsustainable.
Nepal’s Hidden Wealth: The 'Crystal-Clear Diamonds'
Yet, amid the crisis lies untapped promise. Nepal’s renewable energy potential is vast—what can be called its “crystal-clear diamonds.” With over 50,000 MW of hydropower potential, only 2,200 MW is currently harnessed. Solar power, with over 300 sunny days per year, remains significantly underutilized.
Biogas, supported by Nepal’s 1.2 million cattle-owning households, has the capacity for at least 1 million household units. Wind and geothermal energy sources, particularly in Mustang and Myagdi, remain nearly untouched.
Ironically, 98% of Nepal’s electricity generation is renewable—primarily hydro. Yet renewables account for only 6% of total energy consumption, largely because cooking, transportation, and industry still rely on fossil fuels and biomass.
Clean Solutions Within Reach
Nepal’s future need not be bleak. Several pathways are both viable and already underway:
1. Electrification of Transport
The government has introduced EV incentives, aiming to replace fossil-fuel vehicles by 2031. Over 1,000 EVs are in use today, and electric buses from Sajha Yatayat have already helped curb diesel usage in Kathmandu.
2. Clean Cooking Alternatives
Programs under the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) have installed more than 400,000 biogas plants and over 1.3 million improved cookstoves. Women in districts like Dolakha now spend their time in classrooms or farms instead of foraging for firewood.
3. Energy Storage Systems
To ensure energy reliability, Nepal is exploring pumped hydro storage (PHES) and battery backups. Industrial shifts to green hydrogen, as seen at Galaxy Packaging Industries in Simara, show that even high-consumption sectors can pivot to clean energy and save millions annually.
4. Policy, Infrastructure & Global Partnerships
Nepal’s Long-Term Strategy (LTS) aims to slash 8.6 million metric tons of emissions by 2030. Decentralized microgrids—like Gham Power’s solar setups in remote areas—are already delivering sustainable electricity. International partners, including the UK’s Nepal Renewable Energy Programme, are essential in scaling such models.
Time is Running Out
Despite having one of the lowest per-capita carbon footprints in Asia-Pacific, Nepal is one of the most vulnerable to climate collapse. Between the melting mountains, worsening floods, and poisoned air, the threat is not theoretical—it’s already here.
More alarmingly, Nepal’s suffering is not just homegrown. Industrial development in India and China, coupled with Nepal’s own inertia, is suffocating its valleys and displacing its people.
From Black Soot to Bright Light
Nepal is at a crossroads. It can continue inhaling the side effects of global capitalism and local indifference, or it can chart a new course—powered by sunlight, rivers, and its own resolve.
The diamonds are not hidden. They’re in our rivers, our skies, our animals, and our wind. They are renewable, they are clean, and they are Nepali.
The decision now lies with policymakers, business leaders, and every citizen who breathes this air and walks this soil.
Let us trade the black gold for crystal diamonds—not just for ourselves, but for the generations that follow.
