In a country with most of the Himalayas like Nepal, it shapes both the exterior and interior outlooks i.e. snowcapped beauty and identity. Glaciers that once made a permanent home are retreating slowly, where rivers behave unpredictable and seasons pass without direction. Therefore, for most of the Himalayan countries, the Climate change issue is not an abstract thing but a life lived in reality. And these issues do not occur in isolation but transcends far beyond the border.
This is the exact point where Climate diplomacy begins. It begins to seek a global answer that demands countries to come close, cooperate, and negotiate to address the Climate issues globally. It sits at the intersection of science, politics, economics and justice - setting it as one of the most debatable and pressing topics across the global diplomatic table. In fact, climate diplomacy has changed drastically in the last two decades. Early activities done by the United National Environment Program established in 1972, built on environmental accords. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1988, was the one to provide a scientific basis to understand climate change.
In Nepal, the footprint of Climate diplomacy originated from the time of Kalapathhar declaration in 2009. 0.025% of the greenhouse emissions is emitted with 0.4% of the total global population and is listed as the 4th vulnerable country in the global climate index ranking. Also, the ineffective institutional capacity adds an extra layer to this vulnerability.
Climate as a Strategy to Statecraft and Image Building
Globally, Climate diplomacy has been an instrumental arena to discussions to bring forth the Climate problem at the forefront and seek for the solutions. Later, it has begun to be a tool of statecraft - a trending matter as it helps the country’s image and global standing. While the issue of Climate is often weaponized as a soft power, it depends how countries that dominate in renewable energy shape the geopolitical influence and outcomes. If one core is about the issues addressed alone through diplomacy, the other is about security. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and resource scarcity can exacerbate conflicts and displacement, prompting the state to integrate climate considerations into the mainstream of foreign policy. So, the climate subject has been established as a strategy of influence in the area.
Likewise, for Nepal’s standing in the global arena, Climate is still a core potential to be tapped in. This is evident in the shift of victim rhetoric where Nepal’s delegates often portrayed that it has been bearing the loss it never was responsible for, which stands an obvious truth by words. But the Sagarmatha Sambaad held in 2025, concluded successfully with changing perception that even small countries like Nepal are not just vulnerable to Climate change but are in fact, capable of taking control of their own narratives and standing confident in their global voice.
When Climate meets Politics
The foundation of climate diplomacy roots around scientific consensus with a rise of global climate change and a need to address it as a result of human activities. As a result, no country could tackle the issue alone. The institutional beginning of climate negotiations was marked by the establishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992. Its principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) continues to shape the dialogue on climate problems. The idea is shaped by the discourse that not all problems are to be shared equally as to climate action responsibility.
Over the years, key agreements like the Kyoto Protocol placed binding emission targets on developed nations, reflecting their historical role in industrialization. Moreover, 2015 the Paris Agreement brought the idea of inclusivity allowing all countries to set their own climate objectives and their control while maintaining a shared commitment to mitigate the global issue. They established a global framework towards limiting temperature rise below 1.5 degree Celsius in recommendation of “net zero be achieved by 2050”. And a central concept to this rise with a very contentious question of “balance” in an unequal world.
Negotiating with differing interests in a divided World Order
For developed countries and developing countries, negotiations are approached differently. If technology transfer and supply chain is the fundamental of developed nations, economic growth is a significant factor for developing ones. The differing interests clash as historically, developing nations have been bearing the benefits from the centuries of industrialization. This divide creates a persistent friction.
As countries in the global south continue to argue that they are being asked to limit their development for a crisis they did very little to create. Contrastingly, developed nations argue that a promising commitment of participation whether you are a causing nation is imperative. However, these arguments are often contested for setting their own narratives that turn into a political agenda where negotiations are often confronted with a few negotiating experts from the developing countries as to conclude with an unfair judgement at the end.
The Political-Culture of Victim and Blaming
The large part of climate diplomacy rests upon the question: Who is to blame for climate change problems?
While history answers most of the question on greenhouse gas emissions, this also raises the concept of climate justice where most causes should bear the responsibility to mitigate and adapt the climate change issues and support the vulnerability. This is the turning point where diplomacy feels pressured, cooperation feels necessary and consensus turns out to be a principle mandate.
The Human-Climate face of Diplomacy
The focus on emissions and targets is made at the negotiation table when the real stakes of climate diplomacy are actually the humans. Small island nations face existential threats from rising sea levels. Least developed ones struggle with extreme weather patterns and events, famine and displacement. Hence, climate diplomacy turns into a subject of survival.
In a similar way, the concept of loss and damage has emerged from this reality. It refers to the irreversible impacts of climate change that cannot be mitigated. Because Nepal is a mountainous country by geographical lens depending on agriculture, it’s more prone to climatic hazards: floods, landslides, droughts, and glacial lake outburst floods.
After years of resistance, wealthier nations also have begun to acknowledge the need for mechanisms to address these losses advocating through climate justice initiatives. This shift calls for a policy change - a signal that recognizes climate issues not just as an environmental issue but a morality one.
Beyond just the default mode: Expanding nature of Climate and Climate Finance
The major shift of climate is that it is no longer just a defined status-quo nature of climate. Meaning, there are many factors that influence and continue to set the narratives where bigger power countries and weaker ones clash with one another; who will eventually race to position themselves as global climate leaders. For instance, disputes over green technology are becoming a broader part of geopolitical strategies. Moreover, Climate finance is an emerging concept that includes local, national or transnational financing that seeks to mitigate and adapt to climate change through monetary support.
When finance comes with respect to such as Green Climate Fund; rather than funds, they operate as a loan. At COP29, developed countries agreed to a new annual climate finance goal of at least 300$ billion by 2035 for developing countries. That factor creates a double standard of developed countries into actions because vulnerable countries are placed as an additional burden. Climate finance may look as a mechanism of support, however, it undoubtedly puts pressure on weaker countries and that reflects a power imbalance in the world order.
In conclusion, climate issues are more of a universal issue that is shaped by plurality in experiences. Whether or not, climate issues do affect, and politicization of it exposes inequalities of the world. Climate diplomacy hence, operates through power and justice where countries like Nepal are left with little voice and agency. This is the situation when diplomacy comes into place. If climate becomes a mission collective-then promises and negotiations turn into deliberate action while moving for fairer and inclusive space amidst the competing interests and desires in the global order.
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