Remarks by Ambassador of Nepal Mr. Ghanshyam Bhandari as a Special Guest at the Closing Ceremony of ‘Towards a Resilient South Asia: Regional Climate Summit 2023’
Dhaka, 8-10 September 2023
10 September 2023
Closing Session: Ambassadors’ Reflections
Planning Minister Hon. M.A. Mannan
Prime Minister’s Envoy for Climate Change Hon. Saber Hossain Chowdhury
Hon. Members of Parliament from Bangladesh and Abroad
UN Assistant Secretary-General Her Excellency Mme. Kanni Wignaraja
Fellow Ambassadors and High Commissioners
Excellencies, and
Distinguished Delegates
I commend the Bangladesh Climate Parliament for convening this important Summit and inviting me to speak a few words.
Climate change poses an existential threat. The best available science tells us that it is real, and it is alarming.
The temperature is increasing. Sea level is rising. And glaciers are melting. Humanity is on the wrong side of the race against nature.
South Asia region is at the sharp end of climate crisis.
We face some of the toughest impacts despite our negligible contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.
The human and financial toll from the damage due to floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events is terrifying.
Global warming has strained the ice volume of our Himalayas. It has not only eroded the health of our mountains, but also endangered the lives and livelihoods of 240 million people living in mountain regions and 1.65 billion living downstream.
A report published by ICIMOD in June 2023 suggests that, on the current trajectory, glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayas could lose up to 80% of their current volume; and snow cover is projected to fall by up to a quarter.
Against this context, this regional climate summit is both timely and pertinent. It is not least due to the upcoming high-level events such as Climate Ambition Summit to be hosted by UN Secretary-General later this month and COP28 to be held in UAE in November.
I am confident that the Summit deliberations have made substantial advances on exploring pathways to combat climate crisis.
The need now is to build on this collective vision and commitment as outlined in the Summit declaration.
The need is to foster regional solidarity, mobilize resources, and empower youth and local communities for climate action.
Going forward, we must acknowledge that there is no alternative to our collective partnership:
- Be it to confront the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, air pollution, and environmental degradation,
- Or to ensure accelerated climate action and sustainable development,
- Or to champion the cause of climate change at the regional and international level.
We must continue to lead the climate action agenda at the global stage, just like we did around ‘loss and damage’ at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh.
As finance is the fuel that drives climate action, we need to continue raising our voice urging the developed countries to honour their commitment of $100 billion a year for climate support.
Secondly, our Himalayas serve as natural climate stabilizer. They are integral to the natural cooling system. And our snow-fed Himalayan rivers are connected to the identities and civilizations of one fifth of the global population.
The waters of these rivers constitute immense possibilities for energy cooperation in the region.
In fact, harnessing the region’s hydropower potential and catering to the energy needs of the region has been on the table for quite some time.
Now, there is simply no time to lose.
Hydroelectricity can be made a catalyst for enhancing a robust partnership. Energy and power grid interconnections can connect our countries, societies, and markets.
We must:
- Better utilize our waters and meet our energy needs, and
- Ensure just transition to renewable-energy based, and climate-resilient development initiatives.
I take this opportunity to inform this august gathering that Nepal has a goal to reach a net-zero scenario by 2045.
We have already submitted our NDCs twice. Our national policies and plans are aligned as per the second round of NDCs.
Our top priorities include conserving and sustainably managing land, forest, and water resources; undertaking effective adaptation and mitigation measures; and promoting a green and resilient economy.
Finally, as a region, we have our own experiences and stories on energy, climate change and sustainable development.
We also need to understand the importance and influence of the stories well-told and continue to share with the world our narratives- on our challenges and needs, on our adaptation and mitigation measures, and on our collective commitment and action.
To conclude, we cannot envision a sustainable and resilient future without robust partnerships among all stakeholders. Needless to say, parliamentarians have a crucial role to play in this.
All of us must work better and work faster.
There can be no alternative plan other than the plan of sustainable solutions. There can be no ‘plan B’, just like there is no ‘Planet B’.
Thank you for your attention.
