Prez Paudel urges UNSG to pressure developed countries on climate change action

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN: President Ramchandra Paudel has urged United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to press developed countries to take the impact of climate change seriously.

President Paudel made this request during a group meeting held by the UN Secretary-General with the Heads of State and Government of underdeveloped countries currently in Baku for the COP29 conference.

"Although the problems caused by climate change are currently being experienced by countries like Nepal, they will ultimately come to haunt the developed countries as well," he said, according to the President's press adviser Kiran Pokharel. "The developed countries should understand this through the United Nations."

During the meeting, President Paudel emphasised that since countries like Nepal are not responsible for climate change, the funds they receive to tackle its impact should be provided as grants, not debt. He stressed that the United Nations should remind developed countries that the problem of climate change, which is now affecting countries like Nepal, will eventually affect them too.

President Paudel mentioned that underdeveloped and developing countries have not received significant help from developed countries to prevent and adapt to climate change impacts. He urged the UN to increase its efforts to gather adequate financial and other support for the adaptation and mitigation efforts of underdeveloped and developing countries.

The President thanked the UNSG for prioritising the least developed countries in the establishment of an early warning system for disasters, recalling Guterres' visit to Nepal in 2023 to witness the melting mountains firsthand.

Stating that countries like Nepal have struggled to access climate funds due to various procedural and other complications, the President also noted that resources obtained are more effectively spent through government mechanisms, as the government is always accountable to the people. "I think the United Nations can play a role in assuring developed countries in this regard," said President Paudel.

As Chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of the Least Developed Countries, Nepal is committed to protecting the interests and rights of the LDCs, he said, extending gratitude to the United Nations for prioritising underdeveloped and developing countries.

On the occasion, UNSG Guterres suggested that subsidised climate funds should be provided to countries facing the brunt of climate change and that this issue should be strongly raised in the meetings, discussions, and negotiations under COP29.

The head of the interim government of Bangladesh, the Vice President of Malawi, and the Minister of Gambia participated in the meeting.

President Paudel arrived in Baku on Monday, leading the Nepali delegation to the COP29 conference at the invitation of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. He is scheduled to return home on November 15.