Nepal and Bhutan have jointly proposed that the climate risks facing the Himalayan region be made a key agenda item at international climate negotiations, filing a formal request for a dedicated slot at the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31). The proposal, titled "1.5 degrees temperature rise in the Himalayan region", was submitted on behalf of both countries by Agriculture, Forest and Environment Minister Gita Chaudhary under Rule 12 of the conference's draft rules of procedure. The two governments are seeking a separate agenda item at COP31, which will be held in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9 to 20. The move represents a coordinated diplomatic push by two Himalayan neighbours to ensure that mountain ecosystems receive sustained, formal attention at the highest level of global climate diplomacy.

A Joint Bid for the Mountains

The submission marks one of the most concrete steps yet by Nepal and Bhutan to place the Himalayas on the formal agenda of the UN climate process. Instead of confining their concerns to speeches and side events, the two countries have used the procedural channel available to party delegations, filing the request under Rule 12 of the conference's draft rules of procedure, the provision through which additional agenda items can be proposed for the summit.

As Nagarik News reports, the two governments are raising the issue on the world stage at a time when the climate crisis is seen as challenging the very existence of the Himalayas. The joint character of the bid is equally notable: Nepal and Bhutan share the Himalayan landscape, and by acting together they present the conference with a unified mountain voice rather than parallel national appeals.

According to RatoPati, the formal title of the proposal centres on a 1.5-degree temperature rise in the Himalayan region, deliberately invoking the temperature benchmark that sits at the heart of global climate negotiations.

What the Proposal Seeks

The bid goes well beyond symbolic recognition. As Khabarhub reports, the proposal calls for three concrete mechanisms to be established for the Himalayan region:

  • Scientific studies: dedicated research into the impacts of rising temperatures across the Himalayas, strengthening the evidence base on which global decisions about the region would rest.
  • An annual high-level dialogue: a recurring platform at the highest levels of government where the climate risks facing the Himalayan region would be reviewed year after year.
  • A separate action plan: a dedicated framework for protecting Himalayan ecosystems, translating international concern into structured measures for the mountains.

Together, the three elements would move the Himalayas from occasional political statements toward institutionalized treatment within the UN climate framework: research to document what is happening, a standing dialogue to keep the issue before governments annually, and an action plan to channel that attention into protecting mountain ecosystems. For Nepal and Bhutan, securing the separate agenda item is the essential first step, since it is that item which would formally open the door to negotiating such outcomes at future sessions.

Why the Mountain Agenda Matters

The stakes for the two countries could hardly be framed more starkly. In the public presentation of the bid, the climate crisis is described as challenging the very existence of the Himalayas, the mountain system that defines Nepal and Bhutan and shapes the lives of the communities that live within and below it.

The 1.5-Degree Benchmark

The choice of title is pointed. The 1.5-degree figure invoked in the proposal is the same benchmark that anchors international climate ambition, and by attaching it specifically to the Himalayan region, Nepal and Bhutan are effectively arguing that progress toward that threshold must be tracked, and answered, in the mountains as much as anywhere else on Earth.

Strength in Numbers

For two relatively small mountain states, the procedural route may also be the most effective one. A joint Rule 12 submission carries the weight of two parties speaking with one voice and brings the Himalayan issue within the formal machinery of the conference, rather than leaving it dependent on the goodwill of individual negotiators or on host-country programming.

The Road to Antalya

The immediate test will come in Antalya, where COP31 runs from November 9 to 20 and where delegates will consider the conference agenda, including new items proposed under Rule 12. Approval would give the Himalayan region its own agenda item at the summit, opening the way for the scientific studies, the annual high-level dialogue and the dedicated action plan that Nepal and Bhutan have proposed. A deferral would leave the two governments to pursue the same goals through less formal channels.

Either way, the message of the submission is already clear. As the climate crisis challenges the existence of the Himalayas, Nepal and Bhutan want the mountains treated not as a footnote to climate change but as a central concern of it, and they have taken their case directly to the negotiating table where the world's response to global warming is decided.