Mountains Need Action, Not Just Dialogue
Summary
Nepal has warned at COP31 that vulnerable mountain countries need grant-based climate finance, not just dialogue, to cope with glacier melt, floods and landslides. Officials also pressed for a dedicated global agenda on mountains after the proposal was left out of the adopted COP31 agenda.
Key Points
- Nepal says predictable, grant-based climate finance is essential for a just energy transition and disaster recovery without deepening public debt.
- The Bhotekoshi disaster damaged 14 hydropower projects, with reconstruction and rehabilitation costs estimated at US$4.7 billion.
- Nepal, Bhutan and Kyrgyzstan failed to secure a separate mountain and climate change agenda item at COP31, which instead offered consultations and research dialogues.
- Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal urged world leaders to turn sympathy into action on climate change.
