Minister Mahat elected Vice Chair of Global Environment Facility

KATHMANDU: Minister for Finance Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat has been elected as the Vice Chair of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Mahat was elected to the post during a plenary session at the ongoing 7th GEF Assembly in Vancouver, Canada, on Friday.  The Republic of Panama proposed Dr Mahat’s candidacy for the position, while the proposal was seconded by the Netherlands, a press statement issued by Dr Mahat’s secretariat said.

The 7th GEF Assembly, which kicked off on Tuesday, will conclude on Saturday.

Addressing the session, Dr Mahat said Nepal has safeguarded 45% of its total land as forests and has contributed to providing clean air (oxygen) to the global human community. He also highlighted Nepal’s sincere efforts in biodiversity conservation, including the protection of rare and endangered wildlife species.  “Despite our efforts, Nepal remains highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It ranks as the 10th most vulnerable nation to such hazards and continues to experience incidents of landslides, flooding, erratic rainfall, dryness, and an increased threat of glacial lake outbursts in recent times,” he added.

He drew the attention of the participants to the fact that Nepal will require more than $50 billion by 2050 to combat the adverse effects of this temperature rise.

Dr Mahat also underscored the need for a high level of collaboration and the contribution of all stakeholders to effectively address the multifaceted impacts of climate change.