Nepal urges global community to ensure climate justice for Himalayan region at COP31

Kathmandu, November 10 Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal has urged the international community to ensure climate justice for the Himalayan region, which is increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Addressing the opening session of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which began in Antalya, Türkiye, on Monday, Khanal called for concrete international commitments and effective implementation to protect the Himalayas and minimise the impacts of climate change.

“ Nepal has come here in search of climate justice. We must ensure the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature limit for the Himalayas and develop a dedicated action plan for mountains and climate change,” he said.

Khanal noted that although Nepal’s contribution to global climate change is negligible, the Himalayan region, which supports the lives and livelihoods of a large global population, is melting at an alarming rate.