Foreign Minister Khanal advocates for mountain climate agenda at COP31 opening session

Kathmandu: Addressing the opening session of the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, Minister for Foreign Affairs Shisir Khanal strongly advocated for climate justice and urgent protections for vulnerable mountain ecosystems.

Minister Khanal emphasized that Nepal is pursuing climate justice to safeguard fragile Himalayan regions, asserting that global warming must be strictly limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius for mountains alongside a dedicated action plan on mountain climate change.

Noting that Nepal’s contribution to global emissions is negligible while its ecosystems rapidly degrade, Khanal highlighted the nation’s green milestones: maintaining forest cover across nearly half its territory, generating clean hydroelectricity, and ensuring that over 70% of newly purchased consumer vehicles are electric.

Collaborating with Bhutan and Kyrgyzstan, Nepal successfully pushed to place mountain issues onto the COP31 formal agenda. Khanal urged the COP presidency and member states to incorporate three core demands into final decisions: prioritizing the 1.5°C threshold for mountain regions, establishing a specialized mountain climate action plan, and integrating mountain-specific indicators into global adaptation and climate finance targets.

Concluding his address, Khanal stressed that international sympathy following recent domestic disasters must now be translated into systemic action and tangible support.