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Prime Minister Balendra Shah has received an invitation to participate in the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), extended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The invitation was officially disclosed on Wednesday by Krishna Prasad Dhakal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Development, Economic Affairs and Good Governance Committee at Singha Durbar. Dhakal said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already forwarded the invitation to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. However, a final decision on the level of Nepal’s representation at the summit is yet to be made. COP31 is scheduled to take place from November 9 to 20 in Antalya, Turkey. Prime Minister Shah has not visited any foreign country since assuming office. He has also recently received an invitation to visit India. At COP30 in Brazil, then Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Madan Prasad Pariyar led Nepal’s delegation. Speaking on behalf of Nepal, Pariyar said that although the country contributes minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions, it is disproportionately affected by climate change. He highlighted the rapid retreat of glaciers, worsening water and food insecurity, and a series of climate-induced disasters that claimed more than 300 lives in Nepal in 2025 alone. “Our agriculture, the backbone of our economy, is reeling,” he said. Pariyar reaffirmed Nepal’s commitment to ambitious climate action, noting that the country has submitted its action-oriented NDC 3.0 and National Adaptation Plan, with a target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2045. He also highlighted Nepal’s conservation record, noting that forest cover now exceeds 46 percent. Calling climate finance received by Nepal “negligible,” Pariyar urged developed countries to fulfill their past commitments and provide simplified, predictable and grant-based support to vulnerable countries. He welcomed the launch of the Barbados Implementation Modality (BIM) and called for the full operationalization of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD). Nepal sent a significantly smaller delegation to COP30, following a Cabinet decision under then-interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki to curb non-essential overseas travel and limit the size of official delegations. To reduce government expenditure, the government capped state- or government-led delegations at 10 members and limited other government-sponsored teams to three members. When Nepal first began participating in UN climate negotiations in 1995, it sent only two delegates, compared with 19 from the United Kingdom and 27 from the United States. The size of Nepal’s delegations gradually increased over the years. Sixty-nine Nepali delegates attended COP26 in Glasgow, while Nepal was reprimanded at COP20 in Lima for sending a “jumbo delegation” despite its limited resources. A 2024 report by ApEx revealed that Nepal’s delegation missed 68 of the 392 sessions at COP29 because its negotiators were overworked. Despite organizational shortcomings, Nepal has used the COP process to advance issues related to mountains and climate justice. At COP29 in Baku, Nepal sent a high-level delegation led by President Ramchandra Paudel, with Nepal emphasizing the need to mobilize climate finance, protect mountain ecosystems and operationalize the Loss and Damage Fund.