What COP31 can’t fix for Nepal

This essay was originally published as part of our weekly newsletter, Letter from Kathmandu. Sign up to receive this free newsletter in your inbox every Friday from The Kathmandu Post. On Monday, the opening ceremony of the UN climate conference, held this year in the Turkish resort city of Antalya, started an hour and a half late.

Negotiators had been up late the night before, according to wire reports , arguing over whether climate finance would even make it onto the official agenda. Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal was in the hall. He is leading the delegation that includes Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, who is presenting Nepal’s positions at about half a dozen high-level sessions.

Two weeks before departing for COP31, Khanal had laid out the asks at a national climate summit in Kathmandu. He spoke of “the devastating Himalayan Tsunami of 26 August” and called for a dedicated work program on mountains and for adaptation money that comes as grants rather than more debt.