KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 22
Nepal is finalising its position paper for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), seeking stronger international support for climate finance, adaptation and loss and damage as it prepares to highlight the risks facing mountain communities.
The conference is scheduled to take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20. Joint Secretary Maheshwor Dhakal, chief of the Climate Management Division at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Environment, said the paper was nearing completion, with feedback being collected from stakeholders. It is expected to be unveiled next week.
Dhakal said high-level political participation would be important to advance Nepal's priorities, particularly on climate finance and adaptation. The first week of COP31 will focus on technical and thematic negotiations, followed by ministerial-level discussions and decisions in the second week. The ministry is also working to determine participation from federal, provincial and local governments amid resource constraints.
Climate experts say Nepal should use the conference to press for grants to address climate-induced loss and damage, faster access to international climate funds and greater recognition of non-economic losses. They have also called for stronger support for glacier-lake monitoring, disaster risk reduction and the protection of downstream communities exposed to mountain hazards.
Dr Manish Raj Pandey, director of the Climate Change Department at the National Trust for Nature Conservation, said Nepal should raise the risks facing mountain regions and seek financial support for adaptation and recovery. He stressed that assistance for loss and damage should be provided as grants rather than loans, while local governments and communities need easier access to climate finance.
Climate expert Raju Pandit Chhetri said global powers should be held accountable for increasing climate finance, arguing that international attention and investment in conflict and trade outweighed support for climate mitigation and adaptation.
Manjeet Dhakal, another climate expert, said Nepal should use COP31 to draw attention to its climate vulnerabilities while meeting its own emissions-reduction commitments and urging developed countries to cut emissions and deliver climate finance.
The recent Bhotekoshi disaster has further exposed Nepal's vulnerability to climate-related hazards and is expected to inform its position at the conference.
(With inputs from RSS)