Nepal Plans Cross-Party Participation in COP31 Preparations

The government is preparing to involve representatives of both ruling and opposition parties in the House of Representatives in Nepal’s participation at the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), in an effort to develop a common perspective on climate change issues.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the initiative follows Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s interest in broadening political participation in Nepal’s climate engagement and strengthening its representation at the international level.

As part of the preparations, chief secretaries and representatives of various political parties held discussions at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Thursday.

The meeting, attended by Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Environment Geeta Chaudhary and Prime Minister’s Political Adviser Asim Shah, focused on Nepal’s participation in COP31, priority issues to be raised at the conference and ways to effectively present the country’s national interests.

COP31 is scheduled to take place in Türkiye from November 9 to 20.

Nepal is expected to highlight issues including the protection of the Himalayan region, climate-related disasters, climate justice, energy and climate finance, given its high vulnerability to climate change.

The government says broader political participation is intended to help develop a common perspective on these issues ahead of the international conference. RSS