Around three quarters of Nepal’s population is dependent on agriculture, which is highly climate sensitive and increasingly at risk from climate change impacts. This directly affects the economic growth and development of the country. The Government of Nepal has been forced to face this challenging context, and CDKN’s Nepal team has assisted the Government in improving policy frameworks and investment decision systems for the changing  environment.

This Climate and Development Outlook: Nepal Special Edition describes how a CDKN study revealed the economic costs of climate change impacts on Nepal – across vulnerable areas of the economy. The economic assessment led the Government to initiate new projects for a more ‘climate compatible’ development, with CDKN’s support:

• a climate change impact study geared towards making agriculture climate smart;
• a project to make irrigation systems climate resilient; and
• a project to make hydroelectricity projects climate adaptive.

Considering the ever-increasing role of climate finance in responding to climate impacts, CDKN has also worked to strengthen the capacity of Government and other key stakeholders to access international climate change funds. This Outlook: Nepal Special Edition provides some important glimpses of CDKN initiatives in Nepal.