COP31 Climate Agenda: Nepal and Bhutan’s Himalayan Proposal Lacks Major Negotiating Group Support

The news

Nepal and Bhutan failed to secure a place for Himalayan issues on the formal agenda of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, in November 2026. The proposal to include mountain-region concerns in the agenda did not receive support from major negotiating groups, according to officials. Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said on Tuesday that without backing from key countries, formal recognition of the Himalayan issue would be extremely challenging.

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Himalayan-focused proposal was completely ignored and that the European Union showed no interest in it. However, the issue has not been entirely dropped from discussion, and high-level talks are expected soon. Nepal’s delegation is seeking financial assistance for post-disaster reconstruction and research support to better understand changes in mountain regions. Nepal has suggested that recent mountain collapses could be linked to a temperature rise of approximately 1.5°C. Separately, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian alleged on Wednesday that US-Israeli military attacks on fuel storage facilities released approximately 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

What is the UNFCCC and the COP process?

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992 and entered into force in 1994, providing the foundation for global climate negotiations. The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the UNFCCC, generally meeting annually since its first session in Berlin in 1995. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted at COP3 in 1997, and the Paris Agreement was adopted at COP21 in 2015, with the goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established in 1988, provides scientific assessments that inform these negotiations.

Why did the Himalayan proposal fail?

The proposal lacked backing from key negotiating blocs, including the European Union, which showed no interest, according to a source. Some countries openly supported the proposal, while others were reluctant to advance it. The absence of formal agenda space means the issue cannot be discussed in plenary sessions, though it remains open for high-level talks outside the main agenda.

What did Nepal seek and what did Iran claim?

Nepal sought finance for reconstruction after disasters and research assistance to understand mountain-region changes, linking recent mountain collapses to a temperature rise of about 1.5°C. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed that US-Israeli attacks on fuel storage facilities released around 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂, an allegation that links conflict impacts with climate concerns but is not an independently verified figure.