Nepal will place climate justice, the protection of the Himalayan region, climate adaptation, and climate-related loss and damage at the centre of its agenda at the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is scheduled to take place in Antalya, Turkiye, from November 9 to 20. Although the country contributes minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions, the government plans to use the international platform to spotlight the severe risks and mounting losses Nepal already faces as a result of climate change. In a distinctive diplomatic push, Nepal also intends to present the melting Himalayas and rising sea levels not as separate problems but as a single, interconnected environmental cycle, arguing that what happens in the planet's highest mountains is inseparable from what happens in its oceans.
A four-point agenda for Antalya
According to reports published by RatoPati and Khabarhub, Nepal's negotiating position at COP31 will rest on four core priorities:
- Climate justice: pressing for fairness in how the burdens of climate change are shared, given that countries like Nepal emit very little yet suffer disproportionate consequences.
- Protection of the Himalayan region: drawing global attention to the vulnerability of the mountains and the ecosystems and communities that depend on them.
- Climate adaptation: seeking stronger support for measures that help vulnerable countries adjust to changing climatic conditions.
- Climate-related loss and damage: highlighting the harms that go beyond what adaptation can prevent, including irreversible losses already being experienced.
The government's approach reflects a long-standing grievance among mountain nations: countries that have contributed the least to the climate crisis are often the ones forced to absorb its harshest impacts. By framing its agenda around justice and loss and damage, Nepal aims to press the international community to acknowledge and address this imbalance.
Linking mountains and oceans into one ecological cycle
Perhaps the most distinctive element of Nepal's COP31 strategy is its plan to connect the fate of the Himalayas with that of the world's seas. As RatoPati reports, Nepal will raise the issue of mountains and oceans at the conference by linking them into a single ecological cycle.
The underlying logic is straightforward. The snow and ice stored in the Himalayas feed river systems that eventually flow to the ocean, meaning that changes in the mountains ripple outward across the entire hydrological cycle. When Himalayan glaciers melt, the consequences do not stop at Nepal's borders; they travel downstream and ultimately intersect with the same oceans that are rising due to global warming. Conversely, rising seas threaten coastal nations in much the same way that melting mountains threaten highland and downstream communities.
By presenting these phenomena as one unified environmental story, Nepal hopes to broaden the coalition of countries invested in its message. The framing allows a landlocked, mountainous nation to stand alongside coastal and island states that face rising sea levels, creating a shared narrative that spans from the highest peaks on Earth to the lowest-lying shorelines. Such alliances can carry considerable weight in consensus-driven negotiations, where vulnerable countries often band together to amplify their collective voice.
Climate justice and the case of minimal emissions
At the heart of Nepal's position is a stark contrast. The country's contribution to global emissions is minimal, yet the risks and losses it faces from a warming climate are substantial, as the government itself has emphasized in laying out its COP31 plans. This asymmetry is precisely what the climate justice framework is designed to address, and Nepal intends to invoke it repeatedly in Antalya.
The emphasis on climate-related loss and damage is a particularly significant component of this argument. Loss and damage refers to the adverse impacts of climate change that occur despite mitigation and adaptation efforts, including the loss of glaciers, biodiversity, and livelihoods. For a Himalayan nation, the stakes are tangible: the mountains that define the country are among the most climate-sensitive environments on the planet, and their deterioration represents a loss that no amount of future adaptation can restore.
Why the global forum matters for Nepal
The Conference of the Parties is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, bringing together countries from around the world to negotiate collective responses to the climate crisis. For nations like Nepal, which lack the economic and diplomatic heft of major emitters, the annual COP is one of the few international arenas where their concerns can be heard at the highest level.
Nepal's decision to prioritize Himalayan protection, adaptation, and loss and damage at COP31 signals a continuation of its broader effort to keep mountain issues on the global climate agenda. As Khabarhub's English service reports, the government sees the Antalya conference as an opportunity to ensure that the particular vulnerabilities of the Himalayan region are not overshadowed in negotiations dominated by larger economies.
With the conference set to run from November 9 to 20, Nepal's delegation will have nearly two weeks to press its case. Whether through the mountains-meet-oceans framing or the demands for climate justice, the country's message in Antalya will be consistent: the world's response to climate change must account for those who contributed least to the problem but stand to lose the most.
