November 25: The Ministry of Forests and Environment, Government of Nepal, and the Delegation of the European Union to Nepal hosted the ‘Nepal Talanoa Dialogue’ on November 22.

Addressing the opening session of the event, Minister for Forests and Environment, Shakti Bahadur Basnet , said the issue of climate change has a lot of prominence not only because it is an issue being debated globally but also because Nepal is placed in the top list of countries that are being adversely affected.

"We in Nepal are more keen to discuss about climate change since we are having to bear the negative impacts although our contributions to the overall carbon emissions globally is very low," a joint statement issued by the ministry and the EU delegation quoted Minister Basnet as saying.

He expressed hope that the Talanoa dialogue being organized by the ministry with the support of the Delegation of the European Union to Nepal would identify the possible areas of cooperation among different partners and pave the way forward for a more resilient and prosperous Nepal.

Secretary at the Ministry of Forests and Environment, Dr Bishwa Nath Oli said, that there are clear evidences of rise in global temperature which should be checked through concerted efforts of all nations.

He said that Nepal views climate change as a development issue and has been working towards identifying the appropriate ways of becoming more climate resilient through the adoption of more environment-friendly technology. Its goals are to strive ahead in the development front by cutting down carbon emissions to the lowest level possible, Dr Oli added.

European Union Ambassador to Nepal Veronica Cody said that the outcomes of the dialogue will be helpful for the Government of Nepal to take forward at the UNFCCC conference, contributing to the assessment of collective progress and securing a meaningful outcome at the COP 24 in Katowice, Poland this December. The Talanoa Dialogue is considered as an inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue.