Speaking at a high-level ‘Pre-COP Leaders’ Event’ held in Funafuti in Tuvalu on Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Shisir Khanal highlighted the common challenges and priorities faced by mountainous and small island developing states as a result of climate change.
He led the Nepali delegation to the event organised ahead of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Participating in various formal sessions of the event, he highlighted the need to effectively address the shared concerns of countries affected by the adverse impacts of climate change on international platforms, informed FM Khanal’s Secretariat in a statement on Tuesday.
During a meeting with Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo, FM Khanal noted the similarities between the risks and challenges faced by the Himalayan region and small island states in the Pacific due to climate change, and stressed the need to further strengthen cooperation between the two sides on climate-related issues. Likewise, he met Tongan Prime Minister Lord Fakafanua during a field visit to Tuvalu’s Coastal Adaptation Project in Funafuti.
According to the statement, the two leaders discussed the interrelationship between the risks faced by high-mountain ecosystems and those confronting low-lying coastal island states as a result of climate change. They stressed the need for mountainous and small island states to strengthen their common voice on international platforms to ensure the effective implementation of climate finance, climate adaptation and loss and damage funds.
FM Khanal also held a meeting with Mauritius President Dharam Gokhool and first lady Brinda Gokhool. Recalling his first overseas visit to Mauritius as Foreign Minister, Khanal spoke of the various aspects of the longstanding friendly and cordial relations between Nepal and Mauritius.
The meeting also discussed further strengthening cooperation between Nepal and Mauritius on climate change and climate action at international forums. The Nepali delegation went for a field visit to make first-hand observation of the coastal engineering and climate adaptation measures adopted by Tuvalu to mitigate the impacts of rising sea levels and increasingly powerful waves.
On the occasion, Minister Khanal drew attention to the interrelationship between the rapid melting and degradation of glaciers in the Himalayan region and rising sea levels.
He said the climate futures of mountainous and small island states were interconnected, and stressed the need for the international community to fulfil its climate finance commitments in a timely, adequate and equitable manner to help countries address the adverse impacts of climate change.
Nepal has been highlighting the adverse impacts of climate change in the Himalayan region, as well as challenges such as rising sea levels and coastal erosion faced by small island states in the Pacific, as shared climate concerns.
