The Nepal Weekly 
December 2, 2025
An interaction of experts, academia, professionals and campaigners engaged in biomass energy promotion in Nepal issued a 10-point Kathmandu Declaration to promote biomass energy in Nepal. The event was organised on the occasion of International Biomass Action Day 2025.
The event was jointly organised by Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC), Renewable Energy Confederation Nepal (RECON) and Biomass Energy Entrepreneurs Association Nepal (BEEN) at the AEPC meeting hall. Representatives from the government, the private sector, and research institutions have attended the event.
The gathering endorsed the global ‘Forests Are Not Fuel’ campaign and demanded an immediate end to the practice of using forests, firewood, and green wood as fuel. It has issued the Kathmandu Declaration as following.
1. Mandatory industrial co-firing (7–20%) using pellets/briquettes.
2. Remove VAT on clean biomass products (pellets, briquettes, gasifiers, ICS).
3. Provide subsidies/incentives for boiler conversion and biomass technology adoption.
4. Expand municipal waste-to-energy programs nationwide.
5. Operationalize carbon credit systems for biomass energy.
6. Form a National Biomass Task Force led by AEPC, RECON, KU and BEAN.
7. Develop the Nepal Biomass Action Plan 2026.
8. Clarify policies for forest waste collection, ensuring sustainability.
9. Promote youth and women-led biomass entrepreneurship.
10. Declare 24 November as “National Biomass Action Day” every year.
Moreover, it is to note that traditional biomass accounts for 77 percent of Nepal’s energy sector and that the industrial sector’s dependence on coal is increasing, the participating experts urged the government to use modern technology prioritizing the need to adopt clean alternatives such as pellets, briquettes, biogas and biochar.
“Nepal is ready to lead the world in modern and circular bio-energy. The era of generating energy by converting waste, not burning forests, has begun,” campaigners mention. It has also been announced that November 24 will be celebrated as ‘Biomass Action Day’ in Nepal. Nawaraj Dhakal, Executive Director of AEPC, said that although the center has been working on the promotion of bioenergy since the past, it has recently given high priority to bioenergy.
Participating experts and professional
Deputy Executive Director of AEPC, Dr. Narayan Adhikari, emphasized on reducing the use of mineral energy, including traditional petroleum, and said that there is no alternative to biomass for clean thermal energy as there is no possibility of green hydrogen for the time being. Likewise, Immediate Past President of RECON Gunaraj Dhakal said that policy reforms and incentives are needed to promote bioenergy.
Presenting a working paper on the topic of Transforming Forest Biomass into National Prosperity at the programme, Chairman of Bikas Renewable Energy Limited Santoshmani Nepal said that although green forests are considered Nepal’s wealth, Nepal has not been able to benefit from forests due to policy constraints. According to him, the contribution of government forests to the forest-based economy is only seven percent, while that of community forests is 10 percent while private forests account for the highest share at 83 percent.
He said that the largest amount of wood used in forest-based industries in Nepal is from private forests. He also said that although Nepal’s forest sector can generate more than one trillion rupees annually, Nepal is missing out on opportunities in the name of forest conservation. Bioenergy consultant Vaibhav Kumar Thakur also mentioned that there is great potential for bioenergy in Nepal, but said that raw materials for bioenergy are being wasted as they are not utilized. He said that there is a possibility that Nepal can produce pellets, briquettes, coal, etc. from biomass and export them to India as well. Dr. Bim Prasad Shrestha of Kathmandu University also said that bioenergy can play an important role in Nepal’s economy.
According to Dr. Adhikari, although the share of traditional bioenergy use has decreased, from the fiscal year 2069/70 to the fiscal year 2079/80 An analysis of net consumption over the past 10 years shows a compound annual growth rate of four percent. According to the Water and Energy Commission report, about 82.76 percent of the total national energy consumption was consumed in the household and industrial sectors in the fiscal year 2078/79. In the household sector, according to the National Census 2078, only 0.5 percent of households used electric stoves as an alternative. The consumption of petroleum products is also continuously increasing annually as a share of total national energy consumption.
The statement clearly implies that almost all energy consumption for cooking purposes comes from LPG/wood/firewood/coconut and agricultural residues. LPG usage for domestic purposes has exceeded 44 percent, according to the National Census data 2078, which aims to limit LPG use to 39 percent of households by 2030, as set by the nation in the Sustainable Development Goals. Although a national program is underway to promote and use electric stoves, managing the weak distribution system and peak demand during cooking times appears to be challenging at the current time.
According to a study conducted by the Water and Energy Commission, the share of thermal energy in industry is about 15 percent of the total national energy consumption, while the contributions of mineral fuels, agricultural residues, firewood, and electricity are 60, 37, and 35 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, it is noted that 18 Waste to Energy (W2E) programmes initiated across the country in the past did not bring good results. Those programmes run at too slow pace. The policy provisions on waste management and renewable energy promotion were equality responsible for delays and unsuccessful results. The programmes conducted with WB support in Itahari, Dharan and Pokhara, GIZ supported project in Kathmandu faced lack of policy clarity, weak institutional capacity, inappropriate technology adaption and inadequate financial resources. Those projects also lacked weak monitoring, not considered as ‘bankable project’ and unmatched to without local situations.
Therefore, the W2E projects proposed need to be supported by restructuring the national W2E policy, establishing a W2E implementation unit in each municipality, selecting appropriate technologies, and making them in bankable PPP framework with risk sharing, collaborating as Province – Municipality – Private Sector Tripartite linking W2E with NDC 3.0 and Net-Zero goals to create a source of carbon credits, jobs and revenue, leading campaigners stress.
A sustainable solution is not possible without clear policies, capable institutions, appropriate technology, private sector partnerships, and sustainable financial models, without limiting the W2E project to a pilot program, they add.
The situation positive as mentioned above can support achieve NDC 3.0 and Net-Zero goals. (By R.P. Narayan)
Please read this also. https://thenepalweekly.com/2025/06/05/25577/
