KATHMANDU: Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Environment Gita Chaudhary has said Nepal will strongly raise issues of climate justice, adequate climate financing and mountain conservation at the upcoming 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31).
Speaking at a programme organised by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Nepal in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Minister Chaudhary said that although Nepal’s contribution to the global climate crisis was negligible, its people were bearing the consequences of a crisis they had not created.
She said Nepal had received USD 21.6 million from the Loss and Damage Fund, while approval had been granted to submit three projects worth around USD 45 million to the Adaptation Fund.
Minister Chaudhary stressed that adequate climate financing should be provided on time in the form of grants rather than loans.
She also highlighted that Nepal, in collaboration with Bhutan, had proposed including the issue of 1.5°C warming in mountain regions on the COP31 agenda.
The minister called on developed countries to fulfil their climate financing commitments, triple support for adaptation measures and give priority to the concerns of mountain communities in global climate discussions.
She further expressed the government’s commitment to ensuring the participation of women, Indigenous nationalities, Dalits and youths in climate-related initiatives and extending climate finance to the local level.
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