The Himalayas, Climate Justice and the COP31 Mountain Agenda

When the world paid little attention to carbon emissions and the multisectoral impacts of global warming in the 1970s and 1980s, Nepal’s subsistence farmers were already investing their labour, time, money and knowledge in conserving the forests, soil and biodiversity of the Himalayan mountains. They understood that mountains not only offer opportunities to strengthen long-term livelihood security and promote national economic prosperity but also pose risks and challenges to livelihoods.