Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda is set to attend the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-28) in Dubai, UAE. The conference is scheduled to take place from November 14 to 26.
Preparations for Prime Minister Prachanda's participation in COP-28 are underway, as confirmed by Dr. Popular Gentle, the development management expert in the Prime Minister's delegation. The Ministry of Forests and Environment has also made the necessary arrangements for the event.
Dr. Gentle stated, "In this climate conference, a robust delegation, including ministers and experts, will represent Nepal under the leadership of Prime Minister Prachanda."
Historically, Nepal has participated in only three major conferences at the national or governmental level. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal attended the 15th conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009, President Bidya Devi Bhandari attended the 24th conference in Poland in 2018, and a delegation led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba attended the 27th conference in Scotland in 2021.
For the first time, Nepal will have its own pavilion at the COP-28 conference, showcasing more than 30 fields and topics. The Ministry of Forests and Environment revealed that the pavilion would cover various subjects, marking a departure from the previous conferences where Nepal did not have its dedicated space.
The upcoming conference is also significant for Nepal due to the visit of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres before the event. This visit has elevated Nepal's climate-related concerns to the international stage. Forest and Environment Minister Birendra Prasad Mahato expressed optimism, stating, "This time, the table will be broken. Our position papers on six different topics will be strongly conveyed to the world."
The Ministry has intensified preparations for Nepal's participation in COP-28, addressing various agendas. As part of these preparations, interactions have taken place with all seven provinces to gather suggestions. Dr. Budhisagar Paudel, the Head of the Ministry's Climate Change Management Division and Joint Secretary, mentioned that an expert group was formed to prepare topics for the conference. The focus areas include climate finance, adaptation, mountain technology transfer and capacity building, loss and damage, and gender, youth, children, and climate empowerment, along with the mitigation of the effects of climate change.
