DUBAI, UAE: The United Nations' COP28 climate talks shed light on mountain issues at the beginning of the conference.
Citing the reference of Nepal, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in the inaugural session of the conference said the trend of melting glaciers is on the rise due to an increase in the global temperature.
He said the effects of climate change have remained visible in mountains and are affecting the lives of the people.
A few weeks before the climate talks, UN Secretary General Guterres visited Nepal and observed the base camps of Mt Everest and Mt Annapurna. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal attaching high importance to the mountain issues hosted a high-level programme to raise the agendas on behalf of Nepal.
The UN Secretary General addressed the programme and drew the attention of the developed countries to their obligation to address the adverse effects of climate change.
Similarly, PM Dahal called for collective action to save the mountain and clarified that Nepal has been bearing the direct, unequal and harmful impacts of climate change despite almost zero contributions to global carbon emissions.
According to the Paris Agreement, the global community has agreed to contain the earth's temperature within 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, it is estimated that the mountain area temperature will rise beyond 1.8 degrees Celsius before 2050. Studies have shown that almost two third portion of the iceberg of the mountains will be melted.
On the occasion, Minister for Forests and Environment Birendra Prasad Mahato said they were very excited that Nepal's issues received priority. Minister Mahato said Nepal's issues on climate change were established in the conference.
The conference that kicked off on November 30 will conclude on December 12.
