Gandaki Sends 15-Point Climate Agenda for PM Shah’s UN Address

Gandaki Province has sent the federal government a 15-point climate agenda for Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s upcoming address at the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The agenda seeks stronger international attention to the climate risks facing Nepal’s Himalayan region and greater access to climate finance and loss-and-damage mechanisms. Among the key proposals are establishing Himalayan climate justice as a principle of climate finance, creating a dedicated financing window for mountain regions, placing loss and damage at the center of Himalayan climate diplomacy, strengthening locally led adaptation, and establishing an international partnership focused on Himalayan glaciers and mountain risks. The province has also called for stronger early-warning and risk-information systems, cross-border sharing of climate and disaster data among Himalayan countries, and the adoption of a “Science to Decision” approach in mountain development. It has proposed making climate and multi-hazard resilience, lifecycle sustainability and risk reassessment mandatory considerations for international investment in roads, hydropower, bridges and settlements. Gandaki has further emphasized water security, spring and watershed conservation, nature-based solutions, climate-resilient agriculture, food security and sustainable mountain tourism. It has also proposed developing Gandaki as a practical model for Himalayan climate resilience. The province has urged Nepal to use the recent Bhote Koshi-Trishuli flood as an example of the growing climate and disaster risks in the Himalayan region and to seek easier access to international loss-and-damage financing based on scientific evidence and transparent damage assessments. The government has estimated that around Rs 7.23 trillion will be required for reconstruction following the disaster. Gandaki has also stressed that Nepal contributes only a negligible share of global greenhouse-gas emissions while facing significant climate vulnerability. It has therefore proposed that international climate finance allocation consider geographical vulnerability, disaster risks and adaptation capacity, rather than focusing only on emission reductions. Prime Minister Shah has already indicated that he will use the UN platform to highlight Nepal’s climate-related losses, risks and possible solutions, including the impacts on the country’s Himalayan, hill and Terai regions.