Antalya (Türkiye), November 10 – Nepal has urged the international community to increase climate adaptation financing and make funds more accessible to help mountain regions cope with climate change.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal made the appeal at a high-level event, “Strengthening Mountain Resilience through Adaptation Finance” held on the sidelines of the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, on Monday.
The event was jointly hosted by Nepal, Bhutan and Kyrgyzstan with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the JOY Environment Network.
Referring to the August 26 Bhotekoshi flood, Khanal highlighted the economic, physical and human costs of climate-related disasters in Nepal. He said stronger regional and international cooperation was essential to protect mountain communities from severe climate impacts.
He noted that nearly one-third of the world’s population depends directly on mountain ecosystems for livelihoods and well-being, and called for mountain resilience to feature more prominently on the climate agenda.
Khanal urged countries to increase climate finance and ensure that adaptation funding is predictable and easily accessible.
He also called on the international community to maintain the possibility of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, stressing that collective action was essential to address the climate crisis.
