Antalya (Turkiye), Nov 14 (PTI) Science must guide action to reduce the impacts of climate change on mountains through "mitigation and adaptation", a top intergovernmental official has said.
Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change conference (COP31) on Friday, Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), underscored science's role in guiding climate decisions.
“Science needs to be followed in order to reduce the impacts of climate change on the mountains through mitigation and adaptation,” Gyamtsho told PTI.
He also stressed that science needs to be translated into a language policymakers, communities, and the negotiators understand.
“In many cases, it's a question of the right kind of communication. However, science not being taken seriously is no excuse for us not to pursue this line because science has to inform policies.
"Ultimately, science has to inform the decisions that we make,” Gyamtsho said.
COP31 commenced on November 9 in Antalya, Turkiye.
When asked about expectations for the Himalaya issue to be reflected in the final document of COP31, Gyamtsho said he hopes the matter receives the global attention it needs.
“From what I've heard at these different sessions, there's a lot of talk and attention on the Himalayas, particularly in connection with the recent disasters in Nepal,” he said.
Earlier this week, proposals by Nepal and Bhutan, and separately by Kyrgyzstan, to secure formal agenda items on mountain-related issues at COP31 failed to secure the backing of major negotiating blocs.
Nepal and Bhutan had proposed a scientific assessment, an annual high-level political dialogue and a dedicated UN climate work programme on mountain ecosystems, as well as integrating mountain-specific priorities into global climate adaptation and finance frameworks.
Kyrgyzstan separately proposed institutionalising an annual dialogue on mountains and climate change as a standing agenda item at meetings of the UN climate body’s subsidiary bodies, with its outcomes reported to the Conference of the Parties.
The proposals were listed as items 20 and 18, respectively, in the supplementary provisional agenda issued by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on November 6.
But they were not retained as separate agenda items when parties adopted the agenda on the first day.
However, parties agreed that the COP31 presidency would hold consultations on mountain-related issues, with the theme to feature in an upcoming research dialogue and a series of discussions at meetings of the subsidiary bodies in 2027 and 2028.
A source with direct knowledge of the discussions told PTI on condition of anonymity that developed nations did not show interest when the three countries formally pushed the proposal.
Speaking about transboundary cooperation, Gyamtsho, who also served as Bhutan's Minister of Agriculture and Forests from 2008 to 2013, said ICIMOD has already brought together scientists and policymakers from regional member countries -- India, China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar.
He referred to the Disaster Risk Reduction Hub, which brings together scientists working on disaster risk reduction assessment, glaciers, and river basins, as well as disaster management authorities to share information and exchange knowledge.
“The solutions that we have already put in place are the community-based ones. For example, the flood early warning systems are very effective in the Koshi River Basin. Nepal and India are now able to exchange information in real time so that lives can be saved,” the ICIMOD director general said.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)