PM Oli and UNSG Guterres agree on the need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions

New York (USA)- Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and United Nations Secretary General António Guterres have shared the opinion on the need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In a meeting held at the UN headquarters in the lead up to the Summit of the Future and 79th UN General Assembly here today, Secretary General Guterres expressed his commitment to lobby with international community for compensating Nepal for the impact it has been having including melting of its mountains due to climate change.

He also emphasized that sufficient climate finance should be provided to mountainous countries like Nepal, while working on radical reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Recalling his visit to Nepal last year, Secretary General Guterres emphasized the need for intensive reform in the global order with a focus on reducing and preventing carbon emissions that have been impacting developing countries, including least developed countries like Nepal, according to Nepal’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Lok Bahadur Thapa, who also attended the meeting.

Assuring that the United Nations will take initiatives for simplified access of the developing countries to advanced financial assistance, the UN Secretary General also highly praised the performance of the Nepali security personnel in the UN peacekeeping missions. In response, Prime Minister Oli expressed his gratitude to the UNSG for visiting Nepal while urging him to take the initiative to deliver climate justice to Nepal. He also requested to provide leadership positions to Nepal in the UN peacekeeping force, considering its notable contribution to maintaining international peace and security.

The Prime Minister also thanked the United Nations and the international community for their concern in the recent avalanche in the Khumbu region of Nepal and shared that Nepal will soon host the Sagarmatha Dialogue on the agenda of the Himalayan ecosystem. He also invited the UN Secretary General Guterres to join the dialogue. Also present during the meeting were Foreign Minister Dr Arju Rana Deuba, Prime Minister’s Chief Advisor Bishnu Prasad Rimal, Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amrit Bahadur Rai. Earlier today, UN High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, Under Secretary General Rabab Fatima, called on Prime Minister Oli at the office of the Nepali Mission. During the meeting, matters relating to enhancing Nepal-UN cooperation including the promotion of LDCs’ interests in multilateral fora were discussed.