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Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli handed over the Third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC-3) to the representative of the President of Azerbaijan and President of COP29, Mukhtar Babayev, in order to disseminate a positive message in Sagarmatha Sambaad.  

 At an inaugural session of the most awaited Sagarmatha Sambaad, Prime Minister Oli officially unveiled NDC-3 and handed it over to Babayev.

The Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday had endorsed the NDC draft prepared by the Ministry of Forests and Environment based on the Paris Agreement under the COP-21 of the party country of United Nations Framework related to Climate Change. 

Nepal prepared the NDC in accordance with goals set in the Paris Agreement which has the provision that all party countries have to submit their NDC in every five years. Nepal had submitted its first NDC in 2016 and second in 2020. It had approved the NDC-3 with a goal of submitting it by 2025. 

Nepal has prepared the draft incorporating sustainable goals, mobilization of domestic and international financial sources and climate implementation plan up to local levels covering the period up to 2035.

Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba has described the mountains as humanity's shared global resources.

In her welcome statement in the Opening Session of the Sagarmatha Sambaad organized for the first time in Kathmandu on the theme of 'Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity', she said the mountains are the source of fresh water to millions of people.

Stating that the Himalayas are bearing the greatest burden of climate change-induced stressors today, she noted that the rate of glacier melting due to climate change effects has significantly increased. Minister Rana mentioned that this has negatively impacted the daily lives of the mountain communities.

"Mountains store and supply freshwater, act as natural carbon sinks and are home to breathtaking biodiversity and abundant natural resources. They offer an array of sustainable climate solutions in the form of reforestation, watershed protection and eco-tourism," she stated.

Reminding that the climate change-induced disasters have shaken the very foundation of human existence and livelihoods, the Foreign Affairs Minister said the floods and glacial lake outburst triggered by climate change impact has caused a big damage, and the droughts, water scarcity and forest fires has given untold suffering.

"The Sambaad provides an occasion for reflection and introspection and aims to encourage meaningful conversations on matters that matter to us all, from the mountains to the seas, and from the Global North to the Global South," she added.

Noting that the Himalayas, in particular, are facing an unprecedented stress test in real time today, exposing not only the fragile nature of our mountain ecosystems but also a glaring evidence of the lack of meaningful global climate action, she said Nepal, as a mountainous country, is forced to face a heavy and disproportionate burden of the negative impacts of climate change.

"Yet there are incredible examples of many local communities fighting strenuously against climate change. Women, indigenous people, youth, and marginalized groups- especially in mountain regions- are the gentle caretakers of our natural world. They fight on the home ground and they know how to fight a long fight."

The minister stressed on the occasion that recognizing and giving value to their local knowledge and lived experience is critical to building adaptive and sustainable communities, as is empowering them with resources and opportunities for finding sustainable solutions to an existential crisis.

Nepal has committed to achieving the target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.  Hydropower, a clean form of energy, has remained Nepal's largest source of electricity. 

Minister Rana shared community forest, a natural resource management program pioneered by Nepal, has not only helped Nepal enlarge its forest cover significantly but has also emerged as a model of participatory conservation the world over.

"Climate change is a global crisis transcending national boundaries. Nothing less than a global alliance based on justice and solidarity can hope to make a dent on the existential crisis that climate change brings in its wake", she mentioned, adding that we call for a sufficient and effective loss and damage fund that could be easily accessed by countries in crisis. 

The Foreign Minister added that the world should acknowledge the vulnerabilities of countries like Nepal as well as support targeted mitigation and adaptation strategies through the provision of climate finance, adaptation support and technology transfer.

Nepal has therefore been consistently at the forefront of advocating for climate justice in international forums and multilateral institutions, she opined.

Minister Rana argued that this forum would be an opportunity to contemplate on the linkage between climate change and regional and international peace, security and stability as well as the impacts of climate change on migration, food security, humanitarian crisis and disaster risks. 

She expressed the belief that the Dialogue would help spark fresh ideas, foster cooperation and mobilize greater political willpower in combating the specter of climate change and the existential threat to the future of humanity.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 3, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Friday. 

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 184, 800 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 181, 800 per tola on Thursday.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 945 per tola today.

Two women died after being knocked down by a speeding car at Basantapur in Buddhabhumi Municipality-1, Kapilvastu on Friday.

The car hit them while they were on morning walk along the Gorusinghe-Arghakhanchi road section, Police Inspector Birat Sharma Paudel of the Area Police Office, Gorusinghe said.   

The deceased have been identified as Shanta Khatri (60) and Til Kumari Rayamajhi (65). 

Critically injured in the incident, the duo breathed their last on their way to a hospital.   

Police have arrested car driver Khimraj Shrestha (32) of Sainamaina Municipality-5, Rupandehi district for investigation.

The Sagarmatha Sambaad, the international dialogue on climate action, sustainability, and global partnerships, themed "Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity" has kicked off in Kathmandu today. 

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the Sagarmatha Sambaad amid a special function a while ago.

More than 350 national and international distinguished personalities are present at the event.   

Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister and Coordinator of Sambaad Management Committee Arzu Rana Deuba welcomed the distinguished guests attending the event. 

Currently, the distinguished guests are addressing the event. 

There will be parallel thematic sessions after the closing of the inaugural session.

The first edition of Sagarmatha Sambaad, Nepal’s initiative to draw global attention to the impact of climate change on the mountains and humanity, begins tomorrow. Themed Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity, one of the promotional materials for the summit features a nugget of wisdom in Sanskrit, in a smaller print: Vaade vaade jaayate tatwabodha. 

A rough translation of the line would be: Only through relentless deliberations can one get to the essence. It’s just like extracting butter by churning milk, though the process of getting to the essence can be a very long and excruciating, especially in this day and age of global warming, climate change and climate deniers. 

Despite a very small carbon footprint, Nepal has been bearing disproportionate effects of climate change and these effects are most severe on the Himalayas, one of the very few priceless sources of freshwater and a lifeline for billions of people living downstream.  

Notable absences from the neighborhood and beyond aside, diplomats, politicians, climate scientists and experts from around the world are gathering on the lap (literally) of the Sagarmatha, the world’s highest mountain, for the summit. Apart from possible shortcomings on the part of the host, these absences perhaps point out at an alarming level of indifference on the part of the political top brass of respective countries toward a smorgasbord of issues that have a most profound impact on the future of humanity. They seem to forget that while humanity can now explore the vastness of Space in fancy vessels, it cannot bring water from there to quench the thirst of parched living beings.  

Indeed, the summit has become all the more important as it is taking place at the time of a major withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and a fresh round of hostilities between two nuclear-powered countries in the immediate neighborhood and major wars in other parts of the world, activities that take a massive on the environment.
It comes barely a month after the host country nearly choked as air pollution worsened due to drought and raging wildfires, resulting mainly from climate change and global warming.     

As for preparations vis-a-vis the summit, some critics as well as skeptics argue that the government should have adopted a bottom-up approach, by initiating discussions at local, provincial and central levels, identifying issues and presenting them at the forum. Such a grounded approach, they say, would have prevented the conclave from becoming a purely academic exercise and a mere talk shop, taking it further away from the lived experiences of local communities. They are perhaps right, also in their stance that much more could have been done to rally the whole nation behind this common cause.
Criticism and a bit of skepticism aside, the dialogue is a good beginning and here’s hoping that those at the helm of affairs around the world get to the essence soon enough—and act—before this Living Planet ceases to be as a result of our climate-unfriendly ways of life. 

The Nepal Government has approved the Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) on climate change impacts and adaptation and other related areas.  

Minister for Forest and Environment Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri approved BTR on Thursday.

The Ministry of Forest and Environment stated that BTR will be announced in the Sagarmatha Sambaad taking place from today.  

Minister Shahi hoped that approval of BTR and announcement in Sagarmatha Sambaad would spread a positive message about Nepal's commitments to the climate change impacts.   

Parties to the Paris Agreement are required to submit BTR every two years. According to the modalities, procedures and guidelines (MPGs) for the Enhanced Transparency Framework, BTR include information on national inventory reports (NIR), progress towards NDCs, policies and measures, climate change impacts and adaptation, levels of financial, technology development and transfer and capacity-building support, capacity-building needs and areas of improvement, according to the UN agencies. 

Likewise, the government has approved the third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC-3) climate action plan and decided to send its report to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Similarly, the government has decided to approve the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Nepal and the Government of India on Biodiversity Conservation and to authorize the Ministry of Forests and Environment to sign the MoU by coordinating with the counterparts.

At least 15 persons  were injured after a commuter bus hit a road divider at Ratnanagar Municipality-10 in Chitwan district along the East-West Highway this morning.   

The bus (Province 1-02-001 9162) was heading towards Kathmandu from Lahan, Siraha when the incident occurred, said Rabindra Khanal, the Deputy Superintendent of Police of District Police Office, Chitwan. 

The bus was carrying 39 passengers. 

The injured passengers are receiving treatment in two hospitals in Chitwan.