Kathmandu - Nepal will put the Himalayan agenda, climate finance and climate justice at the forefront of its engagement at the upcoming COP31 climate conference, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has said. Speaking as chief guest at the National Climate Summit 2026 in Kathmandu on Thursday, Khanal outlined the priorities Nepal will carry to the global summit, which is scheduled to run from November 9 to November 20 in Antalya, Türkiye. His announcement comes as the government intensifies preparations across ministries and parliament for one of the most important gatherings on the international climate calendar.

Himalayan agenda, climate finance and climate justice top the list

Addressing the summit in the capital, the foreign minister made clear that Nepal's voice at COP31 will be rooted in the country's identity as a Himalayan nation. The priorities he identified form the three pillars of the position Nepal intends to advance during the negotiations.

  • The Himalayan agenda: Khanal said Nepal will prioritise Himalayan issues at the conference, ensuring that the concerns of the mountains and the communities that depend on them are heard clearly within the global negotiating process.
  • Climate finance: The minister placed climate finance among Nepal's central demands, reflecting the need for international resources to confront and adapt to climate impacts.
  • Climate justice: Khanal also stressed climate justice, a framing that highlights the gap between a country whose contribution to global emissions is minimal and the heavy burden of climate change it carries.

Taken together, the three priorities present a coherent argument that Nepal has long carried to international forums: the countries contributing least to the crisis often bear its sharpest consequences, and the global response must reflect that imbalance. By announcing the position at a national summit, Khanal has also tied the government's external diplomacy to domestic expectations, presenting the Himalayan agenda not merely as a negotiating line but as a national cause.

A national stage for a global message

The National Climate Summit 2026 served as the stage for the announcement. Held in Kathmandu, the gathering gave the government an opportunity to spell out, before a home audience, the position Nepal intends to defend when the negotiations open in Türkiye. For Khanal, whose ministry leads the country's diplomatic engagement, the summit provided a moment to align the public message with the one Nepal will take to Antalya: that the Himalayan agenda, climate finance and climate justice are not optional talking points but the core of the country's climate diplomacy.

The timing matters as well. With COP31 scheduled to begin on November 9, the Kathmandu summit offered one of the clearest public signals yet of how Nepal intends to approach the conference and where its red lines will lie.

Coordinating across government, with USD 20 million on the way

Preparations for the conference are being coordinated well beyond the foreign ministry. In a separate engagement, Minister of Agriculture, Forests and Environment Gita Chaudhary and House of Representatives Speaker D.P. Aryal discussed Nepal's COP31 preparations, according to Ratopati. The discussion brought together the minister holding the environment portfolio and the speaker of the federal parliament, indicating an effort to align the executive and the legislature behind a common approach to the summit.

The preparations also come with financial weight. As reported by OnlineKhabar, Nepal is set to receive USD 20 million, a sum that arrives alongside the country's COP31 preparations and adds to the resources the government can draw on as it finalises its climate agenda.

Looking ahead to Antalya

COP31, the 31st session of the Conference of the Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, will convene governments from across the world in Antalya from November 9 to November 20. Such conferences are where decisions on global climate finance, adaptation support and collective commitments are negotiated, making them the principal arena in which countries like Nepal can press their cases directly.

For Nepal, the significance of the venue is matched by the weight of the issues at stake. The Himalayas, which define the country's geography and feed the river systems on which millions depend, face mounting pressure from a warming climate, a reality that has kept mountain issues prominent in Nepal's international advocacy. Khanal's declaration that the Himalayan agenda will be prioritised continues that effort at a moment when climate finance and climate justice have become central themes of global negotiations.

With the foreign minister's announcement, Nepal heads toward COP31 with a clearly defined agenda. Whether in demands for finance, calls for justice, or the push to keep the Himalayas on the world's radar, the message from Kathmandu is consistent: the delegation will travel to Antalya with mountains, money and justice at the top of its list.