The government has expedited preparations for ‘Sagarmatha Sambaad’, a global dialogue to be organized on May 16-18 to draw the international community’s attention to the adverse impact of climate change on Nepal’s Himalayas.
It plans to invite global leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and high-level Chinese officials, for the multi-stakeholder dialogue forum themed ‘Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity’.
Held on Sunday, the first meeting of a management committee, formed for the preparation of the ‘Sambaad’, decided to invite heads of state and government of mountainous and coastal countries, experts working in the climate research sector, representatives of national and international private sectors and influential figures.
The committee formed under Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba has prepared the format for the arrangement of infrastructures and programs for ‘Sagarmatha Sambad’, said contact person of the Sambad and Joint-secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Environment, Maheshwor Dhakal.
The committee has also decided to form an expert committee comprising 16 experts representing different sectors as well as a publicity and coordination committee under the joint-secretary of the Foreign Ministry. The meeting also decided to request partner organizations for demonstration of good practices to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
According to Dhakal, preparatory dialogue on climate change issues facing women and children will be held at the province level. The Ministry of Forest and Environment, and the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers will assign the employees required for the ‘Sagarmatha Sambad’ and Sagarmatha Sambad Secretariat will also be made active for the success of the global dialogue.
Minister for Forests and Environment Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri is the co-coordinator and Forest Secretary is the member-secretary of the committee that has Chief Secretary, officials of the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, Foreign Ministry, Finance Ministry, Home Ministry, National Planning Commission, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Alternative Energy Promotion Center and National Trust for Nature Conservation as members.
The previous meeting of the Preparations Committee was held on Feb 9 in the presence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. Inviting heads of state or heads of government from neighbouring India, China and representatives from South Asian countries was the agenda of the meeting.
Though the event was planned during the second premiership of Oli, it was postponed in the 11th hour owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Secretary of the Ministry of Forest and Environment, Deepak Kumar Kharal, stated that the event aims to amplify Nepal’s voice on climate change, drawing international attention to the country’s high vulnerability despite its minimal contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Through the dialogue, Nepal will advocate for compensation for the losses it faces due to the climate crisis and for payment for its environmental services. Despite the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C, projections indicate that the global temperature is expected to exceed by 1.8°C before 2050. Several research studies suggest that this temperature rise could lead to the loss of two-thirds of the snow cover in the mountains.
