Himalayan Agenda Left Off COP31 Formal List After Major Blocs Withhold Support

An agenda item on the Himalayas proposed by Nepal, Bhutan and Kyrgyzstan has missed inclusion in the formal list of the 31st UN Climate Change Conference, or COP31, after failing to get backing from developed nations. The conference commenced on Monday, November 9, 2026, in Antalya, Turkiye, and is slated to conclude on November 20. Agenda items refer to topics formally taken up for discussion at the conference every year.

Discussions And Rejections

Speaking to PTI at COP31, Nepal's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shisir Khanal, said on Tuesday, November 10, that the three countries will continue to face challenges in getting the issue formally recognised without the support of major countries. A source with direct knowledge of the discussions stated that the European Union did not show interest in the agenda, leading to its dilution, although developing nations did not object to or block the proposal. Mr. Khanal noted that while some nations explicitly backed the proposal raised on Monday, others remained reluctant to take up a new agenda. Meanwhile, several Least Developed Countries and mountain nations were positive, and the Nepal government expects a research dialogue during upcoming sessions while the presidency has assured a final text addressing mountain-related issues in the outcome document.

Climate Impacts And Demands

Mr. Khanal explained that Nepal is emphasising the 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature overshoot because early signs link recent mountain collapses on Nepal's side of the border to warming of around 1.5 degrees Celsius over recent months. A November 4 joint report by the UN Environment Programme and the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative cited August 2026 glacial lake outburst floods along the Nepal-China border as a warning of overshoot-driven impacts exceeding local adaptation limits. The Nepali delegation is seeking research assistance, technology transfer including satellites to monitor mountains and glaciers, and financial support for adaptation, mitigation, and post-disaster reconstruction. Rajendra Prasad Mithra, Secretary of Nepal's Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment, highlighted that Nepal contributes a negligible share of global emissions while the Himalayas melt at breakneck speed. He noted that August 2026 mountain collapses caused more than 6,500 deaths, swept away critical infrastructure, and that rebuilding will cost about one-tenth of Nepal's global economy, following three major climate disasters between August and October. Turkiye's Environment and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum is serving as COP31 president alongside Australia's Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen as president of Negotiations.

Context

UN Climate Change Conferences bring nations together annually to negotiate global commitments for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and managing climate impacts. Mountain regions like the Himalayas are especially vulnerable to rising global temperatures because warming causes glaciers to melt rapidly and triggers severe downstream floods. Developing nations frequently argue that wealthy industrialised countries, which historically emitted the majority of global greenhouse gases, bear a greater responsibility to fund climate adaptation and disaster recovery.