In a powerful address at the opening plenary of the Sagarmatha Sambaad in Kathmandu, Nepal issued a clarion call to the international community for immediate, inclusive, and decisive action to protect the world's mountain ecosystems and ensure climate justice. Minister for Forests and Environment Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri delivered a sobering message, describing mountains as the "soul of our planet" while warning that their rapid degradation poses an existential threat to humanity's future.
The minister emphasized Nepal's unique position as custodian of eight of the world's fourteen highest peaks, including Mount Everest (Sagarmatha), giving the country both a sacred responsibility and moral authority to advocate for mountain conservation.
"These majestic peaks are not just geographical features - they are the lifeblood of our civilization," Minister Shahi stated during the high-level dialogue on "Climate Change, Mountains, and the Future of Humanity." He highlighted how the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, often called the "Third Pole," serves as the water tower for nearly two billion people across Asia while supporting extraordinary biodiversity and cultural heritage.
However, Minister Shahi painted a grim picture of the current crisis facing these vital ecosystems. "Our mountains are under siege from a climate emergency they did not create," he declared, noting that glaciers are retreating at unprecedented rates, alpine ecosystems are undergoing dramatic shifts, and traditional mountain livelihoods are being rendered unsustainable. The minister stressed that this is not merely a regional concern but a global crisis with far-reaching consequences, drawing parallels to challenges faced by mountain ranges worldwide from the Andes to the Alps, the Rockies to the Caucasus.
Citing the latest scientific data from the World Meteorological Organization and the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report, Minister Shahi revealed alarming trends: 2024 has been confirmed as the hottest year in 175 years of recorded history, with mountain regions warming at approximately twice the global average rate. "What we are witnessing is not normal variability but climate breakdown," he warned, pointing to devastating impacts including the largest glacial mass loss on record, accelerated sea level rise, and fundamental alterations to water cycles that may soon become irreversible.
For Nepal, these changes carry particularly severe consequences. The minister explained how the country's rugged topography amplifies its vulnerability, with fragile ecosystems, steep terrain, and rain-dependent agriculture creating a perfect storm of climate risks. "When disasters strike our mountains, they cascade through our valleys and floodplains, affecting millions downstream," Minister Shahi noted. He highlighted how climate impacts are disproportionately affecting Nepal's most vulnerable populations - smallholder farmers, indigenous communities, women, Dalits, children, and the elderly - while simultaneously threatening the nation's development aspirations, including its goal to graduate from Least Developed Country status by 2043.
The bitter irony, as Minister Shahi pointed out, is that Nepal bears these devastating consequences while contributing minimally to global emissions - with per capita CO₂ emissions of just 0.57 tons in 2023 compared to the global average of 6.76 tons. "This is the fundamental injustice we must address," he asserted, calling for climate action rooted in principles of equity and shared but differentiated responsibilities.
Despite these challenges, Nepal is demonstrating leadership through ambitious climate commitments. The minister detailed the country's enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which sets a target for net-zero emissions by 2045 - five years ahead of the global goal. He outlined comprehensive national policies spanning energy, water, agriculture, and biodiversity sectors, with particular emphasis on empowering local governments through Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPAs) and community-based initiatives like Nepal's pioneering Community Forestry Program, which has become a global model for nature-based solutions.
However, Minister Shahi stressed that national efforts alone are insufficient without meaningful international cooperation. He called for urgent reforms to the global climate finance architecture, criticizing the current overreliance on loans - which comprised over 70% of climate finance in 2020 - as creating unsustainable debt burdens for vulnerable nations. "The broken promise of 100 billion in annual climate finance must be replaced with a credible target that reflects actual needs and is delivered as grants, not loans," he demanded.
The minister proposed several concrete measures to address the specific vulnerabilities of mountain regions: establishing a Global Alliance for Mountains and the Cryosphere under the UNFCCC framework; prioritizing mountain nations in climate funding allocations; ensuring loss and damage finance is recognized as an obligation of climate justice rather than discretionary charity; and expanding the "Early Warnings for All" initiative to specifically include mountain hazards with robust monitoring systems.
"The cryosphere is our planet's most sensitive climate indicator - its rapid changes are sounding the alarm for us all," Minister Shahi concluded. "Protecting mountain ecosystems is not just about preserving beautiful landscapes; it's about safeguarding the ecological foundations that sustain human civilization."
As the two-day Sagarmatha Sambaad continues, Nepal's message resonates with increasing urgency: the world must move beyond rhetoric and deliver concrete, collaborative action to protect these vital ecosystems before it's too late. The minister called on all nations to recognize that the fate of mountain communities is inextricably linked to humanity's collective future, and that preserving these fragile environments is both a moral imperative and practical necessity for maintaining a livable planet. (With inputs from RSS)
