Multi-stakeholder Dialogue on Climate Change: Charting a Strategic Voice for Nepal

Nepal stands at a pivotal moment in its climate journey—one that demands both urgency and strategic foresight. As a frontline nation in the global climate crisis, Nepal faces disproportionately severe impacts, including accelerated glacier melt and increasingly erratic monsoon patterns. These shifts have led to a rise in landslides, floods, loss of biodiversity, and declining agricultural productivity, threatening livelihoods, ecosystems, and the country’s long-term development prospects. Despite its negligible contribution to global emissions, Nepal must shoulder the burden of adapting to climate extremes.

In response, the Institute for Strategic and Socio-economic Research (ISSR) convened a day-and-a-half conference on May 1-2, 2025 titled “Multi-stakeholder Dialogue on Climate Change: Charting a Strategic Voice for Nepal” to elevate Nepal’s climate diplomacy and policy coherence at this critical juncture. The dialogue aims to generate nationally anchored, forward-looking inputs to inform Nepal’s positioning at key platforms such as the Sagarmatha Sambaad and Conference of the Parties (COP30).

By bringing together stakeholders from all levels of government, academia, civil society, the private sector, and development partners, the event seeks to identify actionable priorities, address institutional bottlenecks, and foster a unified strategic climate voice for Nepal. Discussions were structured around four thematic panels: climate justice, climate finance, carbon trading, and the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. These panels were designed to surface critical insights and policy directions that can enhance Nepal’s institutional preparedness, strengthen its advocacy for equitable global climate solutions, and guide its path toward a just, resilient, and low-carbon future.

The conference identified several policies, institutional, investment, and capacity gaps that are hindering effective climate action. Recognizing that the climate crisis has global, regional, and national dimensions, the conference unanimously recommended a disaggregated approach to action across these three levels. This report summarizes the thematic presentations, panel discussions, and key takeaway messages, including actionable recommendations.