KATHMANDU: The meeting of Climate Change Council held in Singha Durbar today dwelt on the country status paper to be presented in Copenhagen meeting on climate change scheduled to be held from December 7 to 18.

The paper was prepared by a team of consultants a few weeks ago.

The council, which is headed by the PM, comprises 16 members from the government authorities and seven experts. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, along with other ministers were involved in the discussion.

"There was a rigorous discussion among the PM, ministers and experts, which was primarily focused on the Copenhagen meet and the country status paper," said Prof Dr Madan Koirala, member of the council. According to the council members, the proposal of the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) to declare the nation as the carbon-neutral nation by 2030 came up as a new agenda for the discussion. "Carbon-neutral nation declaration came up as the agenda but no consensus was reached," said Dr Adarsha Pokharel, leader of the status paper preparation team.

Yesterday, the MoFSC had proposed that PM Nepal would mention the carbon-neutral country during the presentation in Copenhagen meeting.

"Nepal is already close to zero emission level and a small effort will heighten our fame in the global arena," said Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Deepak Bohara. The MoFSC clarified that its intention was not to block the developmental issues.