ANTALYA, Nov 13: Nepal has called for mountain regions and climate change issues to be established as permanent items on the institutional agenda of international climate negotiations.
During a meeting held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Nepal highlighted the need for a separate action plan, regular dialogue and high-level political commitment to address growing risks in mountain regions, including glacial lake outburst-related disasters, loss of lives and property, and damage to ecosystems caused by climate change.
Presenting Nepal's concept paper during the Presidency Consultations on mountain regions and climate change organized here under COP-31, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Environment and Chief of the Climate Change Management Division, Dr Maheshwor Dhakal, said that the problems facing mountain regions should not remain limited to discussions.
Presenting the joint concept of Nepal and Bhutan, he said that the demand for a separate agenda on mountain regions and climate change was not merely a theoretical matter but a response to the serious humanitarian and environmental crises facing mountain nations.
Dhakal noted that rising temperatures and the growing risk of global warming exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius had made the crisis in mountain regions more serious. He added that the recent avalanche in the Bhotekoshi River in Nepal had caused significant damage to lives, livelihoods and physical infrastructure.
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Stating that mountain-related issues were not new to international climate conferences, he recalled that the first Global Stocktake held at COP-28 had mandated an expert dialogue on mountain regions. The dialogue was held in 2024, while COP-30 had proposed organizing another dialogue in 2026.
Although these efforts were positive, Dhakal said they were insufficient to address the challenges facing mountain regions. He emphasized the need for a structured, continuous and result-oriented institutional process.
Nepal has proposed a separate programme on mountain regions and climate change, covering climate change mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and the means of implementation.
Similarly, Nepal has proposed organizing a high-level mountain dialogue to ensure continuity and tangible achievements on mountain-related issues through annual institutional dialogues and to strengthen political attention and commitment.
Nepal has also emphasized the need to expand scientific research on the impacts of climate change on mountain ecosystems. It has pointed out that further studies are needed on the effects of rising temperatures, the magnitude and duration of temperatures exceeding the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold, and how these changes will affect communities living in both mountainous and lower-lying coastal areas.
Nepal has urged the international community to provide immediate and additional support to highly vulnerable mountainous countries through financial resources, technology transfer, capacity building, early warning systems and assistance in addressing climate-related loss and damage.
Noting that the effects of climate change in mountain regions are no longer merely potential future risks but realities already being experienced, Dhakal said their impacts would not remain limited to mountainous areas but would also spread to other regions.
As challenges in mountain regions continue to increase, he pointed out that organizing one dialogue after another would not be sufficient. He emphasized the need for an institutional mechanism that could immediately translate scientific evidence and political commitments into action and support.
Nepal has urged the COP-31 Presidency and all member countries to reach meaningful and concrete conclusions on mountain regions and climate change at the conference.
The joint position of Nepal and Bhutan prioritizes the recognition of mountain-related issues in climate risk assessments, financial needs and international climate negotiations.
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