Presentation made by Bhushan Tuladhar to World Fellowship of Buddhists in Bangkok in May 2023 at the session on Environmental Conservation based on Principles of Buddhism. The presentation on the climate crisis and how Buddhist principles can help in addressing it.

1. Climate Crisis through
the Buddhist Lens
Environmental Conservation based on
Principles of Buddhism
World Fellowship of Buddhists
Bhushan Tuladhar | 25 May 2023

2. Climate Change and Urbanization –
Two big challenges facing humanity
Climate
Change
Urbanization
Natural System Climate Change
Urbanization
• Both are human-induced
• Both are long term &
converging
• Both will affect developing
countries more
Human System

3. Growth in Urban Population & CO2

5. Arrhenius, a Swedish
chemist, advances the
theory greenhouse effect
& global warming
Keeling of the Scripps Institute,
begins the first reliable and
continuous measurements of
atmospheric CO2
A National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) panel on climate change
advises “A wait-and-see policy may
mean waiting until it is too late” to
avoid significant climate changes.
IPCC, made up of
leading climate scientists,
is established by UNEP
and WMO.
UNFCCC is signed by 155 nations at
Rio, which calls for “stabilization of
atmospheric concentrations of GHGs
at a level that would prevent
dangerous
Paris Agreement
adopted by 196
parties
Historical aspects of Climate Change
1896 1992
1958 1979 1988 2015

6. Legally binding international treaty on
climate change
Paris Agreement
Works on a five-year cycle of
increasingly ambitious climate
action - NDC
Provides a framework for financial,
technical and capacity building
support to those countries who
need it.
Goal: hold “the increase in the global
average temp. to well below 2°C” and pursue
“to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C
above pre-industrial levels.”
To limit global warming to 1.5°C,
GHGs must peak before 2025 and
decline 43% by 2030

7. Future scenario with current policies
Global greenhouse gas emissions, including emissions from land use
Source: PBL 2021

8. Carbon Footprint
Total amount of greenhouse gases (including
carbon dioxide and methane) that are
generated by our actions
Globally, the average carbon footprint is close
to 4 tons. To have the best chance of avoiding
a 2ºC rise in global temperatures, the
average global carbon footprint per year
needs to drop to under 2 tons by 2050.
Rich countries normally have high per capita
CO2 Emissions
‐ Nepal: 0.5
‐ India: 1.8
‐ China: 7.6
US: 14.7
Qatar: 32.8

9. Climate Action
Building Climate Resilience
Mitigation
Adaptation
Loss & Damage
• Reduce fossil fuel use
• Renewable energy
• Waste management
• Rainwater harvesting & recharge
• Disaster risk reduction
• Climate smart agriculture

10. Carbon Footprint of Cities
3%
of the land
area
55%
of global
population
70%
of GHG emissions
Transport & Buildings:
Largest contributors
66% by 2030
Cities are
also centers
for innovations
& growth

11. Urbanization
often results
in increasing
consumption
of & waste

12. Story of Kathmandu’s
Melamchi Water Supply Project
Nepal’s biggest infrastructure project
26.5 km tunnel to bring Melamchi water (170 MLD) to
KTM. 2nd Phase addition of water from Yangri & Larke
1972
Idea first
conceived
1998
Implementation
started
2021
APRIL
Inaugurated
by President
JUNE
Floods destroy
headworks
Cost: USD 464 Million (in 2000)
Total estimate: USD 800 million
Financing: Mainly ADB Loan

13. Aquifer
Water canal
Hiti
Rajkulo
Working of Traditional Hiti
System of Kathmandu Valley
Pond

14. Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater is abundant, clean & delivered to
your home for free
Most houses already have a gutter to collect
rainwater and water tanks – what we need is
to link to two
With minimal treatment, rainwater is good
enough for drinking
Kathmandu gets about 1600
mm of rain/year which is more
than enough to meet our needs

15. Waste generation increases with income
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
≤5,000 5,001-10,000 10,000-20,000 20,001-40,000 ≥40,000
Average
daily
waste
generation(kg/households)
≤5,000 5,001-10,000 10,000-20,000 20,001-40,000 ≥40,000
Source : Asian
Development
Bank
> = more than,
< = less than,
kg = kilogram.

17. Photo: Bhushan Tuladhar
Air Pollution
is the biggest
environmental
health risk
– WHO
Causes 7
million deaths
per year
Photo: Bhushan Tuladhar Photo: Bhushan Tuladhar
Photo: Bhushan Tuladhar
“
“

18. Air Pollution impact on lungs
Source: Lung Care Foundation, India

19. Percentage of Global Deaths Attributable to Air
Pollution
Source: State of Global Air 2020

20. Solutions to Air Pollution
Photo: Bhushan Tuladhar
Photo: Bhushan Tuladhar
Photo: Bhushan Tuladhar
Photo: CREASION Nepal
Clean cooking
Cleaner production in industries
• Cleaner fuels
• Clean production
Solid waste management
• Recycling
Reduce/manage forest fires &
open burning of agricultural
residue
Clean transport
• Walking
• Cycling
• Public transport
• Electric vehicles

21. What lifestyle choices make a bigger impact to
carbon output?
Avoid
buying
plastic
Home waste
recycling
Turning
lights off
Buying
energy-
efficient
appliances
Avoiding
food waste
Avoiding
dairy
products
Avoiding
eating red
meat
Avoiding
flying
Living
car free

22. Food waste alone
causes 10% of
greenhouse gases
Image by Freepik

23. To the animals of the earth and those of heaven, to the wild beasts of the forest, to
the winged birds, do we speak: they shall deliver us from calamity!
– Atharva Veda, 7.11.6.1
“Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and
governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs.”
– St. Francis of Assisi
“Allah raised the heaven and established the balance, so that you would not
transgress the balance. Give just weight – do not skimp in the balance.”
(Qur’an 55:7-9)
Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator. Its
manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity, there are signs
for men of discernment.
inspires ecological mindfulness & interdependence of all forms of life.
Most religions encourage protection of nature
Source : https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/islam-buddhism-faiths-have-long-encouraged-
stewardship-nature
HINDUISM
CHRISTIANITY
ISLAM
BAHA’I
BUDDHISM

24. In a highly polarized world, there is a
need for a middle way that can bring
everyone together in a practical way to
avoid the extremes of self-denial and
self-indulgence
Relevance of the Middle
Path in a changing
climate
The world has enough for
everyone's needs, but not
everyone's greed,“
– Mahatma Gandhi

25. We are
all on the
same boat
Sure glad the hole
isn’t at our end

27. FHI 360 Nepal
Gopal Bhawan, Anamika Galli, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal
bhushantuladhar@fhi360.org
P 977.1.4537173 ; M 977.9851017819
www.fhi360.org
Thank You!
Cover photo credit: http://assets-cdn.ekantipur.com/images/kantipur/miscellaneous/ANG_2203-03012017070607-1000x0.jpg