Nepal Emerges As Global Climate Lobbyist

The Himalayas are melting alarmingly, and glaciers are knocking louder with floods and landslides in the lowlands. As a Himalayan nation, Nepal has become most vulnerable to climate change triggered by global warming. But the country is breaking ground. It is coming to the front, lobbying for climate justice at global and regional levels.

It now leads mountainous nations for ecosystem restoration, loss and damage funding, and urgent global climate action. Nepal's visibility again came to light after it hosted Sagarmatha Sambaad (Everest Dialogue) last week in Kathmandu. It developed a 25-point "Sagarmatha Call for Action", urging science, technology, and innovation-based solutions to address climate-induced disasters and conserve glaciers, water resources, forests, and agricultural systems.

Deepening climate crisis

Nepal lies at the frontline of the climate crisis. In recent years, the country has experienced increasingly extreme weather events, from melting glaciers and glacial lake outburst floods to water shortages, destructive river flooding, intense rainfall-triggered landslides, and record-breaking heat waves. These are no longer exceptional incidents but recurring phenomena. Nepal contributes less than 0.1 per cent to global carbon emissions. The disproportionate impacts it faces despite its minimal emissions. Home to 1,310 peaks above 6,000 metres, including eight of the world's 14 highest mountains (the 'eight-thousanders'), Nepal is both a victim and a messenger in the climate conversation.

In this context, the Sagarmatha Sambaad served as a vital platform, conveying the country's concerns at both regional and international levels. The dialogue fostered collaboration among countries with similar challenges, from the Himalayas to Iceland and from mountain ranges to coastal regions. It offered vision, scope, and a call to collective action.

Issues once limited to high-level summits like the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) are now being addressed in broader, more inclusive settings. The Sambaad saw the participation of delegates from 12 countries, all of whom stressed the urgency of implementing commitments made under the Paris Agreement, particularly in the context of mountain regions and glacier preservation.

At the event, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, through a video message, expressed commitment to climate action and justice. He praised Nepal's leadership: "The world has much to learn from Nepal's climate leadership." This has acknowledged Nepal's leadership and diplomatic efforts to fight the disastrous impacts of climate change. The Sambaad has offered hope to local climate activists and leaders who have long pushed for compensation for loss and damage due to rising global temperatures. It echoed the voices of those who have tirelessly lobbied at international forums, demanding accountability from major polluters.

The high-profile platform also called for increased international financial support, especially in grants and concessional financing, to help developing countries like Nepal implement climate actions. It urged the global community to recognise the urgency of protecting environmental integrity, as mountain glaciers and the cryosphere are rapidly disappearing, putting pressure on snow-fed river systems that support countless ecosystems and communities.

The dialogue has recognised that the loss of mountain glaciers, in addition to contributing to sea-level rise, leads to cascading effects such as landslides, floods, droughts, and extreme weather events, adversely impacting both mountainous and low-lying countries. It stressed that mountain communities contribute negligibly to global greenhouse gas emissions but continue to bear a disproportionate share of the impacts.

Climatologist Ngamindra Dahal pointed out that the Sagarmatha Sambaad was one of the few international forums focused on the planet that highlighted the vulnerabilities faced by Himalayan countries. The takeaways from the Sagarmatha Sambaad must be implemented, as the dialogue strongly advocated for equitable climate policies, recognising the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable countries and communities, particularly in mountain regions.

The HKH region has an outstandingly fragile ecosystem. Nearly 2 billion people across South Asia depend on its glaciers. It provides drinking water, food, livelihoods, and economic stability. As these glaciers vanish, the risk of severe water crises looms large for communities dependent on snow-fed rivers. At the event, COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev also stressed the urgent need for collective action to address climate threats to mountain ecosystems and vulnerable communities. Babayev warned of dire consequences from melting glaciers, citing Azerbaijan's 20 per cent glacier loss since 2018, and urged nations to deliver on adaptation plans and fulfil funding commitments.

Net zero by 2045

Nepal unveiled its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) 3.0 during the event, presenting a fair and ambitious commitment to global climate action. Nepal is among the few countries – out of 195 parties to the Paris Agreement-- to submit its NDC 3.0 on time. This contribution reflects global solidarity to limit temperature rise by reducing carbon emissions, focusing on renewable energy, waste management, and transport decarbonisation. The plan also includes an ambitious target – achieving net-zero emissions by 2045. Nepal has already met one significant milestone by expanding its forest cover to 46 per cent, a considerable achievement that plays a vital role in carbon sequestration and supports the country's net-zero goal.

The urgency is real, and the time for action is now. Dialogues like the Sagarmatha Sambaad are crucial to remind the world, especially high-emitting developed countries, of their responsibilities. Nepal and other low-emission mountain nations are not asking for charity; they are demanding climate justice to protect the planet's most fragile ecosystems. And the world must heed this clarion call that primarily seeks to save the entire planet where we live.

(Aryal is a journalist at The Rising Nepal.)