Submit your Article

Nepal on Friday signed an Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement (ERPA) with the LEAF Coalition, paving the way for the potential sale of up to 4 million tonnes of verified emission reductions from its jurisdictional REDD+ program across Gandaki, Bagmati and Lumbini Provinces. 

The deal, valued at an estimated USD 40 million or more, marks Nepal’s first formal entry into high-integrity jurisdictional carbon markets and represents one of the largest performance-based forest finance opportunities in the country’s history.

The transaction will be facilitated by Emergent, the LEAF Coalition’s intermediary, and implemented under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) using its TREES standard. 

The standard requires stringent carbon accounting, robust forest monitoring, safeguards for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, permanence and leakage controls, and transparent benefit-sharing mechanisms.

The LEAF Coalition is among the world’s largest public–private initiatives supporting high-integrity forest carbon finance. 

Participating countries are offered a guaranteed floor price of USD 10 per ton for jurisdictional REDD+ credits, providing a stable incentive for scaling credible forest conservation programmes at national and subnational levels.

“This marks an important milestone for Nepal, reflecting the culmination of decades of work to protect forests, establish credible monitoring systems, and place communities at the centre of forest stewardship,” said Mario Boccucci, Head of the UN-REDD Secretariat. He added that the agreement positions Nepal to expand jurisdictional approaches and engage global markets that reward integrity, scale and long-term performance.

Once payments are accessed, revenues will be distributed through Nepal’s emerging benefit-sharing framework. 

Under current provisions, 80 percent of proceeds will be channeled to community forest user groups, Indigenous Peoples, local governments and other implementing entities, underscoring the central role of communities in conserving and restoring the country’s forests.

“This represents an important milestone in Nepal’s long-standing efforts to protect forests and addressing climate change, and demonstrates Nepal’s commitment and readiness to deliver verified emission reductions, which can unlock significant payments from public and private buyers to support Nepal in building a sustainable economy that supports healthy forests and resilient communities,”  says Einar Telnes, Energy and Climate counsellor at the Norway Embassy in Nepal.   

Over recent years, Nepal has strengthened the institutional, technical and safeguard systems required for high-integrity jurisdictional REDD+, including enhanced monitoring capacity and governance arrangements. The ERPA is expected to enable the country to scale forest-based climate action while linking local stewardship efforts to global results-based finance.

The Weather Forecasting Division has forecasted changes in weather conditions in various parts of the country today stating that the country is currently under partial influence of westerly winds. 

This afternoon it will generally be cloudy in the Karnali and Sudurpashchim Provinces, while partial clouds are expected in the hilly regions of the remaining provinces. 

Most parts of the Tarai are expected to have mainly fair weather. 

Some areas of Sudurpashchim Province may experience moderate rain, and light snowfall is possible in some high mountainous areas of Karnali and Sudurpashchim Provinces. 

Similarly, tonight it is expected to be generally cloudy in Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpashchim Provinces, while partial clouds are forecasted in the remaining regions. 

Some areas of Lumbini, Karnali, Sudurpashchim, as well as parts of Gandaki Province, are likely to experience moderate rain with thunderstorms. 

Likewise, there is a possibility of moderate snowfall with thunderstorms in some high hilly and mountainous regions of Gandaki, Karnali, and Sudurpashchim Provinces. 

The Division has urged one and all to adopt precautionary measures with the possible impacts of weather changes on daily life, tourism and health services as well as air and surface travels. 

The Government of Nepal has heightened alertness nationwide to prevent the possible entry of the Nipah virus, following its recent spread in India’s neighbouring state of West Bengal.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, Dr Prakash Budhathoki, said the government has put adequate preventive measures in place. 

Health screenings have been initiated for passengers arriving at Tribhuvan International Airport, as well as at major border points with India.

“We have intensified surveillance particularly at border points in Koshi Province. Similar health checks have also been ordered at other border crossings,” Dr Budhathoki said.

Warning of the virus’s severity, he said Nipah infection can lead to fatal outcomes if not treated promptly. According to him, the mortality rate among infected patients ranges between 30 and 33 percent.

The Nipah virus primarily spreads through infected bats and pigs and can also be transmitted from person to person.

One hundred and sixty-three complaints have been registered with the Press Council Nepal (PCN) in the first six months of the current fiscal year. 

PCN stated that 163 complaints have been registered until the end of Poush (January 14) in the fiscal year 2082/83 BS (2025/26).

PCN joint spokesperson Ram Sharan Bohara said that among the registered complaints, following the correspondence in accordance with the Journalist Code of Conduct, 77 refutations have been issued, 52 responses presented by the respondents have been communicated to the complainants, and 14 apologies/corrections were made.

Similarly, five content materials have been suspended, 10 were asked for clarification, five were given instructions and warned, and during this period one media outlet was penalised by being placed on the non-compliance/blacklist.

According to Bohara, 744 contents from 632 media/web portals/social networks have been self-monitored during this period.

"Among the 744 contents are 447 media contents and 185 non-media contents, and based on the severity of violations of the code of conduct, 136 media and 27 non-media have been instructed and cautioned. 

For 20 non-media with no contact, an investigation has been conducted and correspondence has been sent to the relevant authority for action," reads a statement issued by spokesperson Bohara on Wednesday.

PCN has stated that while it has been regularly monitoring whether journalists and media outlets comply with the Code of Conduct for Journalists, it has initiated a special monitoring process regarding compliance with the Election Code of Conduct in the context of its implementation.