KATHMANDU: Speaking at an event during the UN Climate Change Summit (COP-28), Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal emphasized that the implementation of the Paris Agreement should not be delayed.

Dahal stated, “We are already late to implement the commitments made during the Paris Agreement to limit the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Its impacts are evident in mountains.”

The Prime Minister  also highlighted the importance of transparency, equality, and simplicity in the process of disbursing loss and damage funds, giving priority to countries like Nepal.

Similarly, António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, stressed the urgent need to address climate change issues in mountains, citing his recent visit to Nepal and the observed effects of climate change in mountainous regions.

The Paris Agreement, adopted on December 12, 2015, during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, is a legally binding international treaty. It entered into force on November 4, 2016, with the goal of limiting the global average temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.

Recent emphasis by world leaders on limiting global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century is based on warnings from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Crossing the 1.5°C threshold could lead to more severe climate change impacts, including frequent and intense droughts, heatwaves, and rainfall.

To achieve the 1.5°C goal, greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 and decline by 43% by 2030. The Paris Agreement is significant in the global effort to combat climate change as it brings all nations together for the first time under a binding agreement.

Here are some pictures taken during the event: