Antalya (Turkiye) : Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has said that the effects of growing climate crisis are not being limited to mountain regions alone but affect the global economy, ecological systems, and human life, and therefore, mountain resilience should be placed at the center of global climate action.
Speaking at a discussion held today here under the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-31) on the topic ‘Advancing the Mountain Agenda: Melting Temperatures, Shared Responsibility, and Sustainable Financing for Glaciers, Snowfields, and Resilience,’ he noted that the melting of glaciers, shrinking snowfields, and increasing disaster risks in mountain regions are adding challenges to global water and food security.
‘When the mountains are in crisis, all of humanity is in trouble,’ he said. ‘Our glaciers and mountain peaks, which have formed over thousands of years, are changing rapidly within human lifetimes. The impact reaches not only mountains but also river systems, economies, ecosystems, and eventually the seas.’
Minister Khanal pointed out that climate change risks for Nepal are not just theoretical issues but a reality linked to direct human and physical damage, presenting the devastating flood in Nepal’s Himalayan region on August 26 as an example.
Referring to the event as a ‘Himalayan tsunami,’ he explained that the fast-flowing sediment-laden flood caused by the collapse of glaciers and rocks had a serious impact on human lives, bridges, hydropower structures, and the livelihoods of local communities.
He noted that countries like Nepal, which contribute negligibly to global greenhouse gas emissions, bear a disproportionate burden of the climate crisis.
Emphasizing the need to accelerate global emission reductions to achieve the target of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, he stated even if temperatures temporarily rise and then fall again, the glaciers that melted and the destroyed communities will not immediately return to their previous state. ‘For mountainous nations, exceeding the temperature limit is not just a temporary statistical deviation; its consequences are long-term,’ he added.
Minister Khanal presented five priorities on behalf of Nepal for the protection of mountainous areas and enhancing climate resilience.
These priorities include ambitious emission reduction, grant-based climate finance, effective loss and damage management, science-based monitoring and early warning systems, and institutional recognition of mountain issues within the United Nations climate change framework.
He emphasized that predictable, easily accessible, and grant-based climate finance should be provided to mountain countries for adaptation, resilient infrastructure, and sustainable livelihoods.
He believed that it is not fair to force disaster-affected and at-risk countries to rebuild solely through loans.
Similarly, he argued resources from the loss and damage fund should be delivered quickly, directly, and fairly to frontline mountain communities.
He also called for increased investment in regular glacier monitoring, satellite-based observation, regional data exchange, and multi-hazard early warning systems.
He also shared that Nepal has proposed the ‘From the Himalaya to the Sea’ partnership to promote collaboration, knowledge exchange, and collective efforts between mountain and coastal communities.
Highlighting that Nepal’s ‘Sagarmatha Call for Action’ has provided a clear roadmap for implementing the mountain agenda, he stressed that international cooperation is necessary to make the proposed UN Decade of Mountain Resilience effective.
The programme saw participation from Minister for Agriculture, Forests and Environment Gita Chaudhary, MPs and senior government officials from Nepal, as well as ministers and representatives from countries including Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, and Pakistan.
