India, Sept. 5 -- The devastating tragedy in Nepal, and, subsequently, the Himalayan nation's leaders demanding climate reparations from China, the US, and India based on absolute emissions underscore the impact the climate crisis is likely to have on relations between countries. At the same time, it reiterates the centrality of clean energy in furthering shared sustainability.

Geography, history, an open border, and social ties make India and Nepal structurally interdependent. The critical question, however, is how to transform that interdependence into greater economic value and resilience, and ultimately into a wider regional energy architecture.

Soon after his appointment as Nepal's new energy, water resources and irrigation ministe...