Finance Minister Mahat says, EVs in priority

Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat has said that promotion of electric vehicles in the country is in the Government’s priority. The Government has a clear vision on it. The tax policy will be positive which will be explained in the budget.

Minister

for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, said that the government is not confused.”The government is committed to increasing the awareness on the use of EVs. We know its benefit for the environment and we are committed to developing the infrastructure required for it, including the laws and policies.”

Remarkably, Nepal had expressed commitment to net-zero carbon emission by 2045 at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021.The government has targeted the usage of electric vehicles reaching 25 percent in 2025 and 90 percent in 2030. But the policies keep on changing.

Minister Mahat and Minister Basnet were speaking to EVs experts, professionals, media and climate champions in a dialogue event ‘EV Dialogue 2023’, organised by Kantipur Media Group, on Monday.

On the occasion, EVs experts, professionals and climate champions say that these days more than 200,000 electric cars are being sold every week in all global market. They also stated that there will be 200 million electric cars operating by 2030. The number will extend to 1 billion units by 2050.

EV users are growing in Nepal also. Infrastructures and market making is developing. Business community is bringing in a number of brands made by well- known automakers. There are around 50,000 EVs currently operating in the country, including electric rickshaws which roughly count 40,000.

However, policy instability appears to be a key hurdle for Nepal in promoting the usage of EVs, they indicated. The experts said that leaders representing Nepal, has made commitments in different global forums to go on clean energy. But, there is the speed of action is too slow as changes policies take place frequently.

The experts also opined that the executive authorities have a big confusion that what the policy should be taken for the growth EVs. Energy policy is one big hurdle as one group of experts are arguing whether to build an oil pipeline or to promote electric vehicles. Another group is discussing the pros and cons of laying a gas pipeline and making greater use of surplus electricity. Likewise, there is a demand of installation of charging stations extensively. But the bureaucracy and the Nepal Oil Corporation want to build a multi-billion-rupee pipeline to transport liquefied petroleum gas.

Environmental specialist Uttam babu Shrestha, Environment expert and director of Sajha Yatayat Bhushan Tuladhar, MD of Cimex Inc Yamuna Shrestha and chairman of Thee-Go Clean Energy Rajan Rayamajhi and other also spoke in the dialogue event.