Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Madan Prasad Pariyar landed in Brazil on Sunday to lead Nepal’s delegation to COP30, currently underway in Belém. Nepal’s national statement at the plenary is scheduled for Monday.
Secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Environment, Rajendra Prasad Mishra, who had been leading the delegation during the first half of the conference, returned to Nepal after handing over leadership to Pariyar. COP30, running from Nov 10–21, has entered its second week, with negotiations intensifying on climate finance, adaptation, and the global stocktake.
Joint-secretary at the Ministry of Forests and Environment, Maheshwar Dhakal, said Nepal is making “good progress in both quality and quantitative interventions,” adding that the mountain agenda is gaining momentum this year.
Nepal has been active in multiple negotiation tracks, including the Climate Finance High-Level Ministerial Dialogue, where Secretary Gobinda Bahadur Karkee presented the country’s key priorities. He highlighted Nepal’s disproportionate climate impacts as a landlocked and mountainous nation, noting rapid glacier melt, rising glacial lake outburst flood risks, and over 500 climate-induced deaths in the past two years. He called for strengthened direct access to climate funds, operationalization of the New Collective Quantified Goal agreed last year, and simplified financing processes for vulnerable developing countries. Nepal also urged developed countries to deliver meaningful outcomes under Article 9 and provide climate finance that is accessible, predictable, and responsive to mountain nations.
Meanwhile, negotiations under the Gender and Climate Change agenda item remain stalled, with no agreement possible until all parties concur. Nepali delegates spent nearly 12 hours in coordination meetings, making interventions in the text. In the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) informal consultations, Nepal pushed for recognition of mountainous and landlocked regions, retention of strong language on adaptation finance, and emphasis on grant-based public financing for vulnerable mountain communities. Nepal reiterated its commitment to work constructively toward a comprehensive GGA outcome.
Nepal also held discussions with Japan’s Weathernews Inc team and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on potential collaboration in early information technology. On the Global Stocktake, Nepali negotiators, supported by several allies, succeeded in retaining the reference to “mountain” in the latest draft text.
Leah Stokes, environmental politics and public policy professor at University of California, Santa Barbara told the Associated Press that rather than acting as an individual by yourself trying to make yourself as small as possible at COP, (you can) join with others to try to make your impact as big as possible. “Very little is not nothing. Joining others in community-based actions can have a far larger impact than one person can have alone. Community action takes different forms. The most effective option depends on what kind of change you’re trying to accomplish.”
Also, Manjeet Dhakal, head of the LDC Support Team and a key adviser to the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group told The Climate Watch that LDC represents 44 nations across Asia and Africa, including Bangladesh and Nepal from South Asia. “For these countries, negotiating collectively is essential because it is extremely difficult to negotiate individually in a process as complex as the UNFCCC. The LDC Group provides negotiating strength and a unified voice.”
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, addressing negotiators at the stocktake plenary, urged countries to push harder, emphasizing that the Paris Agreement’s success depends on collective effort and compromise. With ministers arriving, he reminded delegates that time is running out to secure balanced and meaningful outcomes at COP30.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Energy Minister Chris Bowen has travelled to COP30 to campaign for Australia to host next year’s climate summit, as the country remains locked in a standoff with rival bidder Turkey. Both nations submitted their bids in 2022 and neither has stepped aside since, prompting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to write to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month in an effort to break the deadlock.
Bowen said a decision would be made during COP30 and insisted that “Australia has the overwhelming support of the world to host” the conference, according to an official transcript of his remarks at Sydney Airport. He added that he plans to vigorously promote Australia’s candidacy and showcase the country’s clean energy transition at the summit in Belém.
Australia hopes to co-host the event with Pacific island nations for the first time, demonstrating a united front against what Bowen described as the “existential threat of climate change.” He said Australia has much to lose but that strong action now can help avoid the worst consequences. The Pacific Islands Forum, representing 18 countries, has formally endorsed Australia’s bid, with several member states facing severe risks from rising sea levels.
Positioning itself as a future “renewable energy superpower,” Australia is shifting away from coal and gas and seeking investment in critical minerals, green steel, and technologies such as battery storage. Turkey, meanwhile, argues that it wants a COP focused more directly on financing climate action in developing countries, while highlighting its own progress toward its 2053 net-zero goal.
Outside the venue, thousands of demonstrators marched roughly four kilometres near the conference site, calling for stronger climate action. Protests earlier in the week briefly disrupted talks, including one incident where two security guards sustained minor injuries. Many participants expressed relief at being able to protest freely—unlike in more restrictive host countries in recent years, such as Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Egypt.
