Date: 03/12/2026
Location: Hotel Crystal Pashupati, Gaushala, Kathmandu
Event Name: National Dialogue on National Climate Policies and Strategies, Including General Comment No. 26.
Event by: Yuvalaya and various other organizations
The first session was reviewing the existing framework and identifying areas for improvement in the youth and children’s call for action—GC26 by Anjali Sai Chalise.
- She gave an introduction about what climate change is.
- Major Indicator
o Temperature
o Precipitation
She also asked the fellow participants if they can share the participants’ experience of the climate change. Some participants, including me, share their experience (some stories and some lived experiences).
General Comment No. 26
This comment or document was developed with inputs from 16,331 children from 121 counties. It started in the year 2021, issued by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
In Nepal, it was initiated by Save the Children. This comment is not legally binding, but it has the authority to provide guidance.
This is the 1st international instrument that has seen child rights.
It also emphasizes
- Mitigation
- Adaptation
- Climate finance
- Loss & damage
Based on the children. Also, these are the climate pillars at GC26.
Also during that event, I knew that various frameworks like the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Paris Agreement, SDGs, and UNFCC did not address the topics of children rather they focused on environmental issues.
Why is GC26 Important? 16,331 children, from 121 countries
Through: Questionnaires, Creative Workshops, Participation Toolkits, Child‑Led Consultations.
How can we use GC26?
- Advocacy, campaigns, and awareness to the people
Minister Madhav Pd. Chaulagain said:
- Advocacy is really important for policy formulation.
- Advocacy helps to include the things that are sometimes left out or excluded by the system.
- He addressed that Nepal is facing the issues of climate change due to other countries.
- He also appreciated the youth contribution in the drafting of the NDC.
- He put forward the necessity of the consultation to make the government accountable and create fair policies.
- He really focused on the indigenous knowledge being overshadowed due to low discussion in these aspects.
Prakash Singh Thapa, PhD:
-
Circular economy
- Major sectors of Nepal affected by climate change
o Energy
o Tourism
o Forest and agriculture
o Mountains
Nepal’s land topography is the primary cause for climate incidents to occur.
Climate mobility/migration, housing patterns, agriculture production, land use and their prices are some of the incidents seen in Nepal.
Adaptation capabilities of Nepali people are low, and it is visible.
1.2 billion USD by 2025 is lost by Nepal due to climatic events. 21 glacial lakes are formed in the mountain region due to climate change, and some are still yet to be discovered.
Panel discussion:
GC-26 focuses on environment and climate change, awareness & capacity building.
They also developed a children’s version of GC26, also in the local language to make it more understandable.
Reasons for not being able to solve the problem of climate change.
- Low budget of the country
- Low economy
- Poverty
- Shift from LDC
- Demography of the people
Overall, only 5% of the budget in Nepal is being allocated to climate change and should be increased to 20%.
Climate change and politics touch everything that is related to mankind.