Nepal’s preparation and institutional capacity building a must for climate negotiations, Minister Khanal

Antalya (Turkiye), Nov 14: Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said Nepal will strengthen preparatory measures, continuous diplomatic efforts, and multilateral cooperation to establish an effective role in international negotiations and diplomacy on climate change.

Talking to Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) during the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP–31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on Friday, he shared his reflections on the complexities of climate negotiations and the challenges of Nepal’s diplomatic preparations.

Sharing that the decision-making process at COP is based on the consensus of all participating countries, he admitted climate diplomacy is inherently challenging since it requires building a shared agreement among nations with different interests and priorities.

“To fully establish the agendas we seek, preparation and participation of various stakeholders are required in advance,” he said.

Highlighting that Nepal, for the first time, attempted to formally place mountain agendas at the centre of COP, Minister Khanal shared that including a topic proposed by any country in the formal COP negotiation agenda requires international efforts.

Even though Nepal’s mountain agenda was not formally featured in the official schedule, the conference leadership has been advancing the issues through a consultation process.

According to him, there has been positive progress on the topics Nepal prioritised: the 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature limit goal, grant-based and predictable climate finance, and research and action plans focused on mountainous regions.

“To save the Himalayas, it is essential to keep global temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius. For that, global commitment is necessary,” he said. He also asserted that discussions are progressing on dedicated research and studies on the impact of climate change in mountainous regions, as well as on establishing a Mountain Work Programme.

He said if such a programme is established, it would help advance climate finance, research, and adaptation in a more integrated way in mountainous areas.

Minister Khanal added that the existing climate finance system needs improvement and pointed out that resources should be available for adaptation and mitigation efforts before disasters occur, and the delays in receiving aid due to long administrative processes after disasters should be ended.

“Climate finance should be simple, predictable, and grant-based,” he emphasised.

He also highlighted that long-term preparation and institutional capacity building are necessary to increase Nepal’s effective presence in international climate change negotiations.

He said that Nepal needs to engage in diplomatic dialogue and negotiations well in advance, understanding the interests and priorities of different countries before the conference. RSS