Nepal called for grant-based climate finance and mountain resilience at COP31: MoFA

KATHMANDU: Nepal called for predictable, accessible and grant-based climate finance during the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The country also sought stronger support for mountain communities and enhanced climate resilience measures during the global climate conference.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Shisir Khanal returned home on Saturday after attending COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, while Minister of Agriculture, Forests and Environment Gita Chaudhary led the Nepali delegation to the conference.

During the conference, Nepal called for ambitious mitigation through deep emissions cuts aligned with the 1.5°C goal, predictable, accessible and grant-based climate finance for adaptation, resilient infrastructure and sustainable livelihoods, and effective loss-and-damage arrangements providing swift, direct and equitable support to frontline mountain communities.

Nepal also emphasised the urgency of robust scientific research and multi-hazard early warning systems, including high-altitude glacier monitoring, satellite observation networks and regional data sharing. It further called for recognition of mountain-specific climate risks within the UNFCCC process and stronger 'Sagarmatha to the Sea' partnerships linking mountain and ocean communities, alongside support for the proposed UN Decade for Mountain Resilience.

Addressing the opening plenary of the conference on November 9, Minister Khanal drew the international community's attention to recent devastating disasters in Nepal and their severe impacts on lives, livelihoods, physical infrastructure and ecosystems.

He stressed the need to establish a dedicated work programme on mountain and climate change under COP31 and called for the inclusion of specific mountain-region indicators in global adaptation goals and the new collective quantitative climate finance target.

On November 13, while addressing a session on the climate finance needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Khanal underscored the need to ensure climate finance that is accessible, predictable, easy to obtain and grant-based to support countries affected by climate change and conserve high-altitude Himalayan ecosystems.

At a high-level event on "Promoting the Mountain Agenda" on November 12, jointly organised by Nepal, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Tajikistan, Khanal said that when mountains face a crisis, humanity as a whole is at risk.

He called for mountain issues to be brought into the mainstream of global climate negotiations and stressed the need for significant emissions reductions, grant-based climate finance, prompt and equitable support for loss and damage, and scientific monitoring of glaciers.

Ministers Khanal and Chaudhary participated in the Antalya Summit on November 11. Addressing a high-level event on "Early Warning Systems for All" the same day, Khanal said an effective early warning system is indispensable for safeguarding the lives of mountain communities.

He highlighted the need for data collection, satellite-based monitoring, snow and ice surveillance, and the dissemination of early warnings in local languages across high-mountain regions.

During the summit, Nepal, in collaboration with Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan and international partners, including the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the Zoï Environment Network, organised a high-level event on adaptation finance for mountain resilience.

At the event, Khanal briefed participants on the human, physical and economic losses caused by recent devastating floods in Nepal and underscored the need for adequate and easily accessible adaptation finance to strengthen resilience in mountain regions.

Minister Khanal also addressed an event at the Nepal Pavilion on the exchange of experiences regarding transboundary climate-induced disasters and mechanisms for regional cooperation within the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.

He said addressing shared climate challenges requires regional cooperation, technology transfer, the exchange of knowledge and experience, and partnerships among multiple stakeholders.

During the conference, Minister Khanal held separate meetings with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos and Finland's Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio. The discussions covered various issues of mutual interest.

He also participated in a collective meeting with the UN Secretary-General alongside a ministerial-level delegation representing the Least Developed Countries.

According to the ministry, Nepal's participation in COP31 helped effectively present the unique challenges faced by mountainous countries due to climate change to the international community and highlighted the country's priorities on climate finance, loss and damage, scientific monitoring, technology transfer, capacity building, early warning systems and regional cooperation.

Minister Khanal inaugurated the Nepal Pavilion at the conference venue on November 9. According to the ministry, the pavilion served as a platform to showcase Nepal's climate ambitions, achievements in biodiversity conservation and community-level climate adaptation initiatives to the international community.

The ministry said the conference, one of the world's principal multilateral forums on climate change, focused on limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and strengthening the adaptive capacity and resilience of countries and communities affected by climate change.

(With inputs from RSS)