Since the climate change conference at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, the media has been inundated with news of the ‘loss and damage fund’ set up to support developing countries as they face the impact of climate breakdown. The fact that the fund was actually passed by governments was quite an achievement given how stagnated the conversation around loss and damage funding for climate-induced harm has been for the past decades. It took 30 years of lobbying by countries like Nepal that are vulnerable to the climate crisis for the 198 nations that are party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to agree to establish the new fund in Sharm El-Sheikh. What is loss and damage? The concept of loss and damage goes beyond just adapting to or mitigating climate change. It addresses the kind of destruction like massive floods, severe droughts, ocean expansion that countries and communities cannot adapt to. While adaptation deals with the projected risks of climate change, loss and damage tackles the aftermath once impact have already materialised. The notable failure to agree to a way forward on loss and damage funding at the Glasgow Climate Pact at COP26 last year set the stage for the negotiations in Sharm El-Sheikh. It gave loss and damage funding a new prominence it did not have before, and built the momentum for talks. Yet, it is important to remember we went into the conference centre for the first time in Sharm El-Sheikh without loss and damage funding even on the agenda for the negotiations. COPs mostly begin with an agenda fight, but the all nighter to get loss and damage funding a formal space during the negotiation was a good indicator of the marathon that was to come. The vulnerable countries refused to go back from the summit without an outcome on this issue. Our persistence succeeded in the <a href="https://twitter.com/manjeetdhakal/status/1594176722362056705">establishment of a fund</a> that developing countries had been asking for since the early nineties. It bought us a step closer to getting vital resources to those on the frontlines of the climate crisis. It was also a timely reminder of how multilateralism can deliver for those who are most in need. The loss and damage agreement is a big deal for Nepal, a Himalayan country exposed to high risk from climate breakdown. A 2020 study by Climate Analytics shows that all seven provinces in Nepal are at risk from the effects of climate change, and that these risks will become more pronounced at 2°C and 3°C rise above pre-industrial levels. Currently global average temperatures are 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels, and scientists are urging the government to cut back emissions so it will be limited to 1.5°C by the end of the century. This risk is not only a manifestation of Nepal’s fragile climate-sensitive topography, but also the lack of planned development and weak socio-economic systems that leads to higher vulnerability. <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100132/63bfd4399c7e80680e0d3095jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="675">Lubra Village is under constant threat from flash floods. Photo: RONAN WALLACE</div> Data from the BIPAD portal, the central disaster information management system of the Nepal government, shows that compared to other forms of natural disasters, climate-related floods and landslides have been steadily increasing in Nepal causing economic losses as well as loss of lives. Other forms of extreme- and slow-onset climate impacts such as glacier melt and outburst floods, forest fires, droughts and cold waves are also on the rise. The increasing frequency and severity of various hazards indicates that climate change impact in the country is growing. A 2014 ICIMOD study shows that Nepal’s glacier area decreased by 24% between 1977-2010 and another 2019 study shows that even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C increase, the mountains in the region will warm by 2°C degrees and the glaciers will lose a third of their volume. This will have a significant impact on the nearly two billion people living in the region and downstream, including in Nepal. It is <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/lost-damaged-study-economic-impact-climate-change-vulnerable-countries-november-2021#:~:text=Report%20projects%20economic%20harm%20caused,and%20%2D33.1%25%20in%202100%60">estimated</a> that Nepal will experience on average a 13% reduction in its GDP by 2050 and a 33% reduction by 2100 due to climate impact even in the 1.5°C scenario. This will increase on average to around 20% reduction by 2050 and 65% reduction by 2100 under current climate policies. These are conservative estimates that do not take into account all forms of climate impacts, and are in addition to the non-economic loss and damage the country will face. The loss and damage fund agreed at COP27 is huge given that to date no finance had been made available through existing processes within the UNFCCC to address it. While a fund was established building on the momentum from Glasgow, the specifics of what the fund looks like, where it will be placed, how it will be sourced and how it will function remains to be decided. The way forward to design and operationalise the fund is important. A transitional committee tasked to work on the design of the fund will meet three times next year to deliberate on these matters, and will present recommendations for the consideration of countries at COP28 in UAE next year so it will be operational by end 2023. The process has begun to nominate members of the transitional committee, which will comprise 14 members from developing countries and 10 members from developed countries. Under the developing countries category, three members will be nominated from the Asia and the Pacific region and two from the Least Developed Countries LDCs. It is vital that the new loss and damage fund sits in parallel with existing funds like the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as an operating entity under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement. It should expedite and have flexible disbursement of resources to ensure support immediately in the aftermath of a climate event. This would not be possible if the fund were to sit under the GEF and the GCF which follow a program-based approach. At COP27, LDCs negotiated on loss and damage as a part of the Group of 77 and China — the negotiating bloc comprising 134 developing countries. There is a view from the developed countries that the funding arrangements to respond to loss and damage should include other loss and damage financing initiatives outside of the UNFCCC as well. While the LDC Group welcomes any support on loss and damage, proposals outside of the UNFCCC are seen as falling outside of the mandate of the climate negotiations, and the governments that take part in them. They are, therefore, seen as not being not pertinent to the negotiations ongoing under the Convention and Paris Agreement. Nepal's role Nepal needs to work on further strengthening its institutions and policies to better document and respond to climate impacts, and coordinate with agencies already engaged on disaster- and humanitarian-related support. Currently the BIPAD portal tracks both climate-related and other disasters together. Now more thought needs to be given on how the data can be disaggregated to demonstrate climate change impact. Furthermore, establishing climate linkage and collecting information and data on slow onset events remains key. Nepal has a special role to play in the design of the loss and damage fund in the coming year. We are best positioned to amplify voices on the accelerated impacts of climate change in the highlands. It will also be important to continue to build on Nepal’s expertise on climate change to maintain leadership at both the national and international levels and to steward the negotiations so the loss and damage fund can &nbsp;respond effectively to the urgent needs of the world’s most vulnerable. Manjeet Dhakal is Head of LDC Support Team at Climate Analytics (CA) and Director for Climate Analytics South Asia office. Sneha Pandey is Sneha Pandey is a loss and damage expert with the LDC Support Team at Climate Analytics.

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What next after COP27 L&D fund?

<figure><img width="1170" height="530" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059c39c7e80680e0ce206jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, chair of COP27, reads the nine-page Sharm El Sheikh Implementation Plan, the document that concluded the climate summit on Sunday Nov. 20, to an exhausted audience after tough and lengthy negotiations that finally reached an agreement to create a fund for loss and damage, a demand of the global South. Photo: KIARA WORTH/UN</figcaption></figure>It’s finally over. After the anticipation and build-up to COP27, the biggest climate meeting of the year is now in our rear-view mirror. The crowds of delegates that thronged the Sharm el-Sheikh international convention center for two long weeks have all headed home to recover. Many will be fatigued from long hours and sleepless nights as negotiators tried to seal a deal that would move the world forwards. Did all this hard work pay off? In our opinion, COP27 was both better and worse than we’d hoped.<h3>Failing to Follow the Science</h3>First, the bad news. COP27 failed to deliver what the science tells us was needed. With the window of opportunity closing fast on our goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C or less, COP27 did far too little on the all-important issue of mitigation—that is, cutting emissions.The case for urgent action keeps getting stronger. The latest reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) make for grim reading about what to expect if we let temperatures rise too much. Nowadays, though, we just need to read the newspapers to catch a glimpse of the future.The head of the key negotiating Group of 77 – 134 developing countries – was Pakistan which has been dealing with the worst floods in its history, leaving 1,717 people dead and dealing an estimated $40 billion in damage. In 2022 in the United States, there were 15 climate-related disasters which each exceeded $1 billion in costs.Meanwhile, in Africa, according to Carbon Brief’s analysis of disaster records, “extreme weather events have killed at least 4,000 people and affected a further 19 million since the start of 2022.”Since this COP was billed by some as the “Africa COP”, one could expect a strong response to such news.The pressure was therefore on at COP27 to respond to such disasters. Attending COP27 were 112 world leaders and over 300 government ministers: not as many as at COP26, but still a good number. Something like 27,000 people from governments, intergovernmental, stakeholders, and journalists also attended the COP. This was to the backdrop of the UN Secretary General warning us that we needed to “cooperate or perish,” to take urgent action to take us off “a highway to climate hell”.Messing up on mitigation: And yet progress on mitigation was modest, at best. While some delegations pushed hard for stronger commitments on cutting emissions, the appetite in some quarters just didn’t seem to be there. After being pressured to do more in Paris and Glasgow, China, India, and some of the oil-producing countries appeared reluctant to take much more in Sharm el-Sheikh.They feel developed countries, which are historically responsible for the bulk of emissions, should be doing more themselves, rather than coercing others. The result was a negotiated outcome with little more on the table than we had in Glasgow. For instance, delegates could not agree to ramp up their language on fossil fuels, much to many people’s disappointment.Read  also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/taking-climate-finance-to-the-people/">Taking climate finance to the people</a>, Anne JellemaFinance: Likewise, there was not too much to report on the issue of climate finance. The $100 billion annual support for developing countries initially promoted by Hilary Clinton at the 2009 Copenhagen COP and enshrined in the Paris COP in 2015 will be reviewed in 2024 with a new figure being hopefully agreed then for 2025 implementation.The Global South has been talking of this new sum numbering in the trillions to help adapt and mitigate against climate change. And yet there were few signs of movement towards anything of that magnitude.Given that the North has still not met its pledge of $100 billion by 2020, it’s clear a lot of movement is needed in the next couple of years. Yet news from outside the conference, such as the US House of Representatives now having a Republican majority, does not bode well.For a meeting billed as the “implementation COP” where climate action was taken to another level, the news on mitigation and finance was therefore disappointing.Just prior to the start of COP27 the lead negotiator for Egypt Mohamed Nasr underscored: “science reports were telling us that yes, planning is not up to expectations, but it was implementation on the ground that was really lagging behind.”<h3>Exceeding Expectations—the Loss and Damage Fund</h3>There were some bright spots, however.Perhaps most surprising was the agreement to create a ‘Loss and Damage’ fund to help the most vulnerable countries. This has been a key issue for almost 30 years, particularly for small island developing countries.In Glasgow this looked very unlikely to be resolved in the Sharm COP, but with a late change of heart by the Europeans and eventually by the United States and others in the OECD, this is perhaps the most significant and surprising outcome from COP27. Even as recently as October, the signs were that OECD countries were not on board with calls for a new fund. However, at COP27 the “trickle” of earlier action in this area turned into a flood.Interestingly, it was Scotland at COP26 that started things off, with a modest, voluntary contribution. More recently, Denmark, Austria, New Zealand and Belgium had also financial commitments to loss and damage, now amounting to $244.5 million. Mia Mottley Barbados’ Prime Minister has called for a 10% windfall tax on oil companies to fund loss and damage caused by climate change, which could raise around $31 billion if it had been introduced for 2022. Still, the signs a fund would be agreed at COP27 had not been good.This makes the final outcome all the more welcome. The idea, the door is now open for the most vulnerable countries to receive more support. A goal has now been set to fully operationalise the fund at COP28 in a year’s time. For the most vulnerable nations, this cannot come quickly enough.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-migration-is-already-happening/">Climate migration is already happening</a>, Nicole McCloskeyGlobal Goal on Adaptation: Another positive development, albeit on a more modest scale, was in the area of the ‘Global Goal on Adaptation’. Here, delegates agreed to “initiate the development of a framework” to be available for adoption next year.A lot of work will need to be done at the intersessional meeting of the UN Climate Convention’s subsidiary bodies in Bonn in June next year to prepare for this, including how to measure progress towards this Goal. An approach similar to the development of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 might be appropriate, perhaps?Article 6: Another of the Glasgow breakthroughs was that on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on carbon markets and international cooperation. COP27 saw some solid work undertaken on how to operationalise this both in market and non-market approaches.There are still a lot of sceptics on this will have a genuine impact and how to ensure not double counting or even that any offsets are real. An approach that is more ecosystem-based than just trees is gaining momentum. Such a change, if it happens, also offers a real chance to link the two major UN conventions on climate and biodiversity.Agriculture: The work on the Koronivia Work Programme on Agriculture went down to the wire. The outcome was a four-year open-ended working group reporting at COP31 (2026). Some controversy on the term ‘food systems’ may see its first workshop address this issue.It will also look at how we can better integrate the program’s work into other constituted bodies such as the financial mechanisms of the convention. The Green Climate Fund has given only $1.1 billion for adaptation on agriculture. It says one of the major reasons for this is the:“Lack of integrated agricultural development planning and capacities that consider maladaptation risks and investment needs across the agricultural sector, climate information services and supply chains.”While these outcomes on agriculture, adaptation and Article 6 may seem modest, they should be welcomed as steps in the right direction.Coalitions of the Willing: One of the outcomes from the Glasgow COP was the launch of ‘Coalitions of the Willing’; groups of countries and stakeholders wanting to move quicker on an issue than they might under the official UN negotiations, which are consensus-driven and involve more than 190 countries. In Sharm el-Sheikh we saw a number of countries join the Methane Pledge, including Australia and Egypt. China joined the meeting on the Pledge and committed to its own national methane strategy.In Glasgow, 137 countries had taken a landmark step forward by committing to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. With the imminent return to leadership in Brazil of President-elect Lula da Silva, there is renewed hope that real action on the Amazon forests is possible again. Lula committed Brazil to reaching zero deforestation and was hailed as a hero by many when he turned up at COP27 during the second week.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/cop27-empty-promises-and-funding-failures/">COP27, empty promises and funding failures?</a> Thaif DeenMeanwhile, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ)—the global coalition of leading financial institutions—committed to accelerating the decarbonisation of the economy. GFANZ, which includes over 550 of the world’s leading financial institutions, has committed to reduce their financed emissions in line with 1.5 degrees C.With $150 trillion of combined balance sheets, the accountability mechanism announced of a new Net-Zero Data Public Utility is yet to prove if it is effective in holding the finance sector to their commitments. However, if it can deliver on its potential, this could be a game changer.There was plenty more activity at COP27 where the results are harder to measure. Most people at these large UN climate summits are not negotiators and COP27 was full of “side events” and government and stakeholder pavilions each with its own set of events and agendas.Country pavilions provided a venue to talk about their challenges, issue pavilions on oceans, food, water, health, education, and resilience highlighted their issues and how they fit into the climate agenda. These enable critical issues to be discussed in a more open way than could be undertaken in negotiations.Ideas were shared, connections made, and partnerships for further action shared. The upshot of all of this activity is hard to measure, but probably considerable. The thematic days organised by the Egyptian Presidency also gave space to these issues and helped bring together ideas that may ultimately find their way into future UN decisions. In this respect, too, the quality of the side events and pavilions at COP27 exceeded our expectations.<h3>On to Dubai and COP28</h3>Was COP27 a success or failure? When it comes to keeping up with the science, the answer can hardly be positive. The call to “keep 1.5 alive” hangs in the balance and is still on “life support”. In that sense, COP27 had very little impact on our current trajectory, which is a likely warming of 2.4-2.8°C by the end of the century.On the other hand, the promise of a loss and damage fund, as well as modest successes on adaptation, Article 6, agriculture, and actions outside the official negotiations, mean COP27 delivered some bright spots of success.Looking ahead to next year, COP28 will be important as it marks the first “global stocktake” to judge where things now stand. We hope this will focus world leaders to increase their pledges (or “nationally determined contributions”) significantly. It will be interesting to see how the United Arab Emirates, as COP28 host, performs. As a major oil producer, it faces some serious challenges in transitioning to a net zero world.At COP 27, there were rumours the UAE was ramping up its team and bringing in additional external expertise ahead of next year. This is certainly a good sign if COP 28 is to deliver the kind of groundbreaking outcomes the science now demands.Felix Dodds and Chris Spence are co-editors of the new book, Heroes of Environmental Diplomacy: Profiles in Courage (Routledge Press, 2022). It includes chapters on the climate negotiations held in Kyoto (1997), Copenhagen (2009) and Paris (2015).Reprinted under an arrangement with Inter Press Service (IPS).Read more:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/global-crisis-local-solutions/">Global crisis, local solutions</a>, Sonia Awale <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/make-or-break-climate-summits/">Make or break climate summits</a>, Erica Wu

COP27 a Success or a Failure?

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710124/639057b69c7e80680e0ce16cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"/><figcaption>Photo: UN</figcaption></figure>The COP27 climate summit is taking place amid a rash of political, economic and environmental upheavals, including missed funding and emission targets, increased pollution and climate devastation, rising global inflation, cuts in Western development assistance and the negative after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.The summit, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/make-or-break-climate-summits/">27th Conference of State Parties (COP27)</a>, scheduled for 6-18 November is billed as one of the largest annual gatherings on climate action, this time in the Egyptian coastal town of Sharm el-Sheikh.The Brussels-based Centre for UN Constitutional Research (CUNCR) predicts COP27 “will likely face the same empty promises and no actions by most big countries responsible for climate change.”In a message during the launch of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Adaptation Gap report released on the eve of COP27, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns “the world is failing to protect people from the here-and-now impacts of the climate crisis.”“Those on the front lines of the climate crisis are at the back of the line for support. The world is falling far short, both in stopping the growth of greenhouse gas emissions and starting desperately needed efforts, to plan, finance and implement adaptation in light of growing risks.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/which-loss-and-damage/">Which loss and damage?</a>He also pointed out that adaptation needs in the developing world are set to skyrocket to as much as $340 billion a year by 2030. “Yet adaptation support today stands at less than one-tenth of that amount. The most vulnerable people and communities are paying the price. This is unacceptable,” added Guterres.Gadir Lavadenz, Global Coordinator, Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice (DCJ), says COP27 couldn’t be another example of how power is usurped: “It is outrageous to still see big corporations manipulating and dominating this process. Big polluters have a role to play, stop polluting and not use the climate COPs to greenwash their actions. COP27 must deliver a strong message to the world that the multilateral system can still play a role in the climate crisis.”Lavadenz also pointed out that the annual $100 billion target was not only evaded systematically by developed nations, but it has demonstrated to be insufficient to deal with the magnitude of our climate crisis and there is growing evidence of this.“COP27, unlike its predecessor, should move away from false solutions like geo-engineering, carbon offsets, nature-based solutions and others and instead focus on the matters that have the potential to impact the most vulnerable countries and groups.”Finance is not about cold numbers, but about the lives at risk in this very moment and that have no means to deal with a problem caused by the consumerist culture of a small privileged portion of this world.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/global-crisis-local-solutions/"> Global crisis, local solutions</a>, Sonia Awale“COP27 cannot be remembered as just another meeting, but as a moment to show progress and hope through real solutions,” says Lavadenz, who is the Coordinator of a global network of over 200 grassroot, regional, and global networks and organisations advocating climate justice.Flagging a new report from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters 26 October that countries are bending the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions downward, but the report underscores that these efforts remain insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.The report shows that current commitments will increase emissions by 10.6% by 2030 compared to 2010 levels. This is considered an improvement over last year’s assessment, which found that countries were on a path to increase emissions by 13.7% by 2030, compared to 2010 levels, “but it is still not good news”.Just 26 of 193 countries that agreed last year to intensify their climate actions have followed through, pointing Earth toward a future marked by climate catastrophes, according to the U.N. report.Meena Raman, a Senior Researcher at the Third World Network, a member organisation of Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice (DCJ) says the $100 billion target is supposed to be $100 billion per year.“This target is not expected to be realised and is complicated by how climate finance is counted,” says Raman pointing out that the definition of what climate finance is in itself an issue being addressed at the COP.She adds: “Given that many developing countries are in debt distress, the provision of more loans which need to be paid back presents a very major problem for those countries who need the finance.”What is needed, she argues, is more grants for especially tackling adaptation needs and funds to address loss and damage.Meeting the climate finance needs of developing countries through non-debt creating instruments is critical, including through the reform and re-channeling of Special Drawing Rights as outright grants for climate finance.COP27 must not be a lost cause. It is the time for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/global-crisis-local-solutions/">implementing in real terms</a> the commitments made by developed countries, states Raman.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters last week: “When we were together at COP26, (in Scotland in October-November 2021), we brought forward a declaration, a statement, for the elimination or the reduction of methane gas by 30% by 2030.”Added Blinken: “We are now looking at most countries committing to this. If everyone did this, this would be the equivalent of removing all vehicles and all the ships and all the planes that are currently out in the world in terms of emissions. So, we can have a real impact. We can do what is needed to maintain the 1.5 degree Celsius rise of temperature.”Reprinted under an arrangement with Inter Press Service (IPS).Read more:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/make-or-break-climate-summits/">Make or break climate summits</a>, Erica Wu

COP27, empty promises and funding failures?

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710124/639057359c7e80680e0ce148jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1794" height="952"/>This November, world leaders gather in Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt to negotiate, monitor progress on targets, and implement global climate action.The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 27th session of the Conference of Parties, called COP27 for short, will have to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions even as the global economy is hit by the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Across the world, unprecedented climate disasters such as record-breaking heat waves, forest fires and floods are occurring much before predicted by scientists in previous climate summits.The problem now is to acknowledge that the pace of climate change is accelerating, and how to get governments to agree on mitigating the causes and implementing of adapting measures before it takes on even more catastrophic proportions.Hence, the COP27 Egyptian presidency has said its priority is to operationalise climate commitments from previous summits for this year’s annual conference.The UAE, scheduled to host the next summit in Dubai in 2023, has established a close partnership with Egypt to ensure the success of the UNFCCC process.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-greenwashing-in-glasgow/">Nepal’s greenwashing in Glasgow</a>, Rasmi BaskotaThe 2020’s has been called ‘the decade of action’, and the next few years will be critical in determining the magnitude of the consequences of the climate crisis.The most recent scientific report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR6 WGIII) indicates that global GHG emissions need to be reduced by 43% by 2030 to keep warming below 1.5°C. At the previous climate summit in Glasgow last November, it was agreed that countries need to update their nationally determined commitments on reducing emissions by September 23 before COP27 to ensure emission targets are in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement.While the national commitments have clear metrics for emission targets, measurements of the need for adaptation are yet to be agreed upon. COP27 will build on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GlaSS) established in Glasgow to enhance planning and implementation of adaptation measures. At COP27, countries are expected to agree on adaptation targets, which will be a major mandated outcome for COP28.Specifying progress on adaptation goals is also essential as it provides a measure of progress every five years after the Paris Agreement. This first stock take consists of ongoing information collection and preparation, technical assessments, and consideration of outputs, or presentation and discussion of the findings and their implications, in COP28.Read also:  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/copout-at-cop26/">COPOUT at COP26</a>, Sonia AwaleWhile finance is the key to implementing many of these strategies, developed countries have previously failed to deliver the promised annual $100 billion goal by 2020. However, to maintain trust in this international process, COP26 President Alok Sharma previously requested Canada and Germany to take a lead on the Climate Finance Delivery Plan, which will guide developed countries to reach the annual $100 billion goal by 2023.In late October, Canada and Germany published a progress report on the plan, detailing four key collective actions: enhance transparency for doubling adaptation finance, strengthen climate finance accessibility, highlight contributions from multilateral development banks, and explore mobilisation of private finance.However, the Global South calls for progress on new climate finance goals beyond the $100 billion goal, and also wants rich countries to address ‘loss and damage’ from climate-induced disasters. Starting this year, discussions are already underway for a collective quantified goal on climate finance.In response to climate finance, UAE recognises the need to build capacity for mitigation of climate change. As the president of COP28, the UAE is investing $50 billion towards renewable energy in 40 countries and says it will invest another $50 billion over the next decade. Strengthening renewable energy capacity is crucial because currently most countries are still dependent on fossil fuel imports.The most recent IPCC report indicates that the lifetime GHG projections of existing and currently planned fossil fuel infrastructure already exceed the 1.5°C goal and would reach 2°C warming. This means that to stay at least within the 2°C goal, there should be no more new fossil fuel investments and that they should phased out to tackle the climate crisis.The UAE is still producing oil and exporting them to supply other countries’ energy demands. The recent energy crisis signals countries to depend less on fossil fuels by shifting their dependence to renewable energy sources. However, before the shift happens, the UAE will continue to export oil to other countries because many countries’ economies are still dependent on oil. This again shows that combatting the climate crisis requires ambition and collaboration between all countries to shift away from the dependency on fossil fuels.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/oil-rich-gulf-turns-to-renewable-energy/">Oil-rich Gulf turns to renewable energy</a>, Kunda  DixitThe UAE is the fifth largest crude oil exporting country after Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada and Iraq. To support the international process, the UAE submitted its updated second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in September. The most notable update is its commitment to reducing 31% of GHG emission by 2030, compared to their previous pledge of reducing 23.5% by 2030.This target will bring the UAE closer to its goal of reaching net zero by 2050. This on its own will not meet the global 43% reduction target of 1.5°C as indicated in the latest IPCC report. Nonetheless, this update is significant and a breakthrough in the region, which can inspire more countries to commit on more ambitious target. To raise ambition even further, the UAE plans to releasing its third version NDC in 2023.There are other critical issues also on the table in Sharm el Sheikh, including Article 6, the establishment of a carbon trading system, and loss and damage. While loss and damage has historically been assumed as part of adaptation, ongoing disasters have proven that there is a need to address the consequences of climate change separately.In past climate negotiations, the Global North and Global South have been deeply polarised. With the ongoing global economic crisis, it is unlikely that there will be a positive outcome for this topic. Nevertheless, it gives a lot of room for progress in the climate summits this year in Egypt and next year in UAE on issues like establishing a financial mechanism.As the climate crisis accelerates global impacts, time is running out. Countries thus need to scale up their climate ambition to move the negotiation forward on addressing the climate crisis.This includes abiding by agreements in past COPs and making progress between each COP to support the international process. Different topics of discussion are at different stages of progress and this progress takes place separately in meetings throughout the year.With various ongoing discussions taking place, leadership to support this overall process of addressing climate change is essential. The UAE is supporting the Sharm el Sheikh summit to prepare for next year’s COP28 and to play a leading role in averting the climate crisis.Read more:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/good-cop-bad-cop/">Good COP, Bad COP</a>

Make or break climate summits

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

Thousands of Nepali students dreaming of an American education have been forced to look elsewhere as the Trump administration’s visa restrictions make their future uncertain.
The US was long considered a top destination for higher studies, making Nepal the 10th biggest country of origin for international students in America.&nbsp;
However, that number has seen a significant decline with the total for Nepali students now at 16,482. Some 8,000 Nepali students obtained no-objection certificates to study in the US from the Ministry of Education in the past year.&nbsp;
India, Australia, Canada, South Korea, United Kingdom and Japan are the other popular destinations for Nepali students. There are no clear numbers for Nepalis going to India, but a slight decline was noted this year after the deaths of two female students.
The US State Department has issued a circular to its embassies not to issue new visas to applicants until further notice. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the directive stated that the department planned to expand the screening of applicants' social media.&nbsp;
While new applicants are barred including those applying for visitor visas, students with scheduled interviews are allowed to proceed.
“Many of our students are affected by the new restrictions, but those who had applied for student visas earlier have got interview dates,” one Kathmandu-based college counsellor told us.
Meanwhile, even foreign students with spotless records already in the US have not been spared, as visa scrutiny intensifies under the new policy. In a move that underscores the growing sense of insecurity, many US colleges advised international students to carry their passports and documents at all times, even when traveling locally.
“Me and my friends did not go home this summer because we were not sure we would be allowed back, so we just went to Niagara Falls,” said a Nepali undergrad in Ohio, who like many interviewed for this report did not want her name used for fear of repercussion.
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Nepali students have adopted a cautious stance, with many choosing not to return home during summer vacation due to fear of visa revocations as well as travel bans. Meanwhile, over 7,000 Nepalis with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will have to come back to Nepal by 5 August or face deportation. Thirty-seven were flown back to Kathmandu on Omni Air last week.
“The US is one of the most sought-after destinations for higher education, and the ban will definitely impact bright students,” says Narottam Aryal of the King’s College in Kathmandu.
Indeed, Nepali undergraduates admitted into Ivy League colleges for the 2025 academic year have been asked to look for alternatives. The entire Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board resigned on Wednesday citing interference from the Trump administration on the selection of this year’s cohort. Some Nepali students already on Fulbright scholarships have noted disruptions, delays and even cancellation of stipends.&nbsp;
The student visa restrictions were initially just for foreign students admitted to Harvard University, but it was later extended to all Chinese students and now to all students. Universities like Columbia which actively recruit foreign students, face sharp enrolment declines, threatening their financial stability and diversity.
An Indian female PhD candidate at Columbia University had her visa revoked by the US State Department, and said she was targeted on the basis of her social media posts on Israeli military attacks in Gaza. Social media vetting of political activism has raised concerns about privacy and freedom of expression in a country where such rights were a given.
Many students have been informed via email that their visas have been revoked for getting speeding or parking tickets, but even others with no criminal record have been affected. The fear of deportation looms large amongst international students, including those from Nepal.&nbsp;
For most Nepalis who migrate to the US for education, the journey is a high-stakes investment. They come largely from middle-class families, often rely on a patchwork of scholarships, work-study programs, loans, or even the sale of family assets to afford fees.
Most Nepali students pursue STEM subjects which offer extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) periods that help fund their education. But with the US backsliding on education and humanitarian matters, countries like the UK and Canada are becoming more attractive despite their own recent stricter controls on student visas.&nbsp;
The UK universities saw a 63% rise in Nepali students’ admissions in 2024. Japan is another popular destination with 64,816 Nepali students enrolled as of 2024.
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Already, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are poised to benefit from the increased scrutiny of US student visas. Several Hong Kong universities are offering unconditional admission to affected students, while Malaysian institutions are targeting previously US-bound Asian students. China and India have 330,000 and 280,000 students respectively in America, but the numbers for China have seen a sharp drop in the past year.
Elsewhere, branch campuses of American institutions such as NYU in Abu Dhabi, Georgetown in Dubai and Northwestern in Doha are getting more admission applications, and universities in the Gulf region are expanding infrastructure to accommodate those who would otherwise have gone to the US.&nbsp;
Even educational institutions in Nepal are hopeful that the US visa restrictions can be an opportunity to at least keep Nepali undergrads in Nepal, and also attract foreign students from the region.&nbsp;
“Many students might choose to complete their undergraduate degree here in Nepal and then move abroad for their Master’s degree later,” says Aryal of King’s College. “There was a need for quality higher education in Nepal anyway in terms of innovation and opportunities, so this could be the time to reduce our dependence on other countries.”
Nepal’s strategic position between India and China makes it sensitive to US policy shifts. India, a key ally, is also under US scrutiny for potential student travel restrictions. Chinese universities are already offering more scholarships to Nepali talent to capitalise on the US retreat.
American universities have challenged student visa restrictions in the courts. A federal court in Boston revoked the blanket ban on Harvard, and the State Department has ordered the resumption of processing student and exchange visitor visas.&nbsp;
Some are still hoping that President Trump will backtrack on the student visa restrictions, just like he has done with many of his more drastic executive orders.
Even so, the visa see-saw and longer-term uncertainties about living in the United States and its education system means students across the world are making alternative plans.
Says Aryal: “Policies of foreign countries change according to their needs, so excessive dependence was never a good idea. We should work to create different opportunities and choices of higher education within Nepal, so students are retained.” &nbsp;

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

While Nepal was hosting the Sagarmatha Sambaad international climate conference in Kathmandu this month, on Mt Everest it was pretty much business as usual.&nbsp; The signs of climate breakdown are all there: a river now runs through Base Camp in summer, the Khumbu Icefall is more unstable, and there are more &nbsp;frequent avalanches. When expeditions arrived in March, the mountains were bare: it had not snowed since September, but then blizzards dumped unseasonal snow in May. And despite climate worries, such is the pull of Himalayan mountaineering that the Everest Industry showed no signs of slowdown. More than 600 international climbers and their Nepali guides had made it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain. At one point there were an estimated 2,000 people in the tent city on the Khumbu Glacier. All the ropes and ladders on the Icefall came down on Thursday, marking the official end of the spring climbing season, and just in time to avoid a monsoon cyclone approaching from the Bay of Bengal. It has been an action-packed season. One factor could be that Everest fees will go up from September: each foreign climber needs to pay a $15,000 royalty, up from the present $11,000. The cost for a Nepali climber on the South Col route will also go up: from Rs75,000 to Rs150,000.&nbsp; The fee to climb Everest in autumn is $7,500 (up from $5,500), but most climbers still prefer spring. Winter permit fee (December-February) is only $3,750 per person and the mountain is now also open for monsoon (June-August) climbs, when the fee is ever lower at $2,750. The revised rule also makes it mandatory for every two climbers on an 8,000m peak to hire one Nepali mountain guide.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046" data-rendition-name="original" width="931" height="732" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry graph 1"> </figure>  In addition, climbers also have to pay for porters and guides, equipment, Base Camp costs, Ice Fall and fixed rope team fees, so climbing Everest does not come cheap. But such is the draw of climbing the world’s highest peak that some say the increased fees will not diminish the crowds next year. The government has tried to spread expeditions out to other seasons and other 8,000ers, but with not much success. Earlier this year, Nepal unilaterally increased the number of 8,000m peaks to 14 by adding six more sub-summits to broaden the choice for climbers. Added were: Yalung Kang (8,505m), Yalung Kang West (8,077m) &nbsp;Kangchenjunga Central (8,473m), Kangchenjunga South (8,476m), Lhotse Middle (8,410m) and Lhotse Shar (8,400m).&nbsp; The announcement could go against the accepted topographic criteria that a stand alone peak has to be at least 300m higher than an adjoining prominence, and at more than 3km isolation from it. The UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme) still recognises only 14 mountains as eight-thousanders, and only eight of those are in Nepal, or on the border with China. Nepal’s revised mountaineering regulations also increased the insurance coverage of high-altitude workers to protect porters and high altitude guides who usually take more risks on the mountains. Rescue teams and clean-up campaigners to collect trash and remove bodies of dead climbers up to Camp IV of Mt Everest do not need permits.&nbsp; The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is now using drones to fly down trash in 20kg sacks. Each climber is also required to bring down at least 6kg of waste and not just their own, but this rule is erratically enforced. With five fatalities on Everest and Lhotse, Spring 2025 had a historically low death toll. Another five climbers died on Annapurna, Kangchenjunga and Makalu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a" data-rendition-name="original" width="665" height="740" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest industry graph 2"> </figure>  Journalist Ben Ayers who ran the Everest Live social media channel from Everest Base Camp with daily updates credited the low death rate to dramatic rescues of climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ by their Nepali guides and longline helievacs — the visuals all uploaded on YouTube.&nbsp; “Ironically, this perception of safety is bringing more and more inexperienced climbers to the mountain, and they need more rescues,” Ayers said in one of his dispatches.&nbsp; American expedition chronicler and summiteer Alan Arnette suspects there is a lot of under-reporting given that the jet stream and storms were lashing Everest even till late in the season. He told us: “I heard a lot about frostbite and rescues that were not made public. It’s become practically impossible to cover the details on Everest. All the teams report nice news, and they don’t talk about bad stuff to avoid hurting businesses.” Although trash on Nepal’s mountains makes headlines, what does not receive as much attention is the climate impact of so many expeditions. The Sagarmatha Sambaad conference sidestepped this issue, which is ironic given that the impact of climate breakdown is most evident on Himalayan peaks and their glaciers.&nbsp; <h2>Need for Speed</h2> The big stories this year have been about speed-running from their home cities to the top of Everest. Ukrainian entrepreneur Andrew Ushakov flew out of JFK on 15 May at 10:15AM Nepal time, and was on the summit 3 days, 23 hours, and 7 minutes later on 19 May at 9:22AM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1800" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry"> <figcaption>Andrew Ushakov at the summt. Photo: ELITE EXPED</figcaption> </figure>  “I could never find the time for the traditional 40-50 days of acclimatisation,” Ushakov explained matter-of-factly. His ‘Everest Sea-to-Summit’ climb was possible because he spent 400 hours in hypoxic sleep tents over the past four years in New York. However, Ushakov did use ropes already fixed, hired four Nepali guides, helicoptered to Base Camp, and used much more oxygen than an average climber. And after the climb, Ushakov was arrested at Kathmandu airport for being in possession of $20,000 of undeclared cash and spent a night in jail and fined $60,000.&nbsp; The other speedsters were Garth Miller, Alastair Cairns, Anthony Stazicker, and Kev Godlington, all former British Army commandos. They left London and summited five days later on 21 May, and flew right back. They also used hypoxic tents to simulate the thin air high on Everest.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="810" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry "> <figcaption>All four members of the Furtenbach team at the summit. Photo: Sandro Gromen-Hayes</figcaption> </figure>  But more controversial was their use of xenon gas therapy in a German hospital to ramp up the production of oxygen-carrying haemoglobins in their blood. Xenon is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for being performance enhancing in sports. Expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach said this rule does not apply to mountaineering, as it is not a regulated sport like swimming. Nepal has no rules about xenon, but the Department of Tourism said it was launching an ‘investigation’ to decide on future policy since it is difficult to ban xenon, but allow oxygen. The controversy has also divided the mountaineering community, with some climbers saying they just want to maximise their chances of survival. Spending less time on the mountain could make climbing safer by reducing avalanche risk. It would also mean less trash on the mountains, but it would reduce the income of Nepal’s expedition industry. It is also unclear how much of the success was due to xenon therapy and whether the ex-special forces were already in good physical shape.&nbsp; The need for speed hides the fact that climbing in the Himalaya is dangerous business, and climbers cannot sprint to the top just by huffing xenon. But ultra-fast climbs could be charged more, and the revenue generated can be used to establish state-of-the-art rescue operations, and increase pay and insurance for guides. Two other speed chasers this season were Swiss-Ecuadorian Karl Egloff and American Tyler Andrews, both on Everest without oxygen. Andrews choppered to Base Camp to catch a weather window, but turned back from 8,500m due to high winds. Heavy snow and wind also forced Egloff to descend from 7,000m. Slow and steady climbers like Anja Blacha from Germany did make it to the summit without oxygen, while Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record with his 31st Everest summit as he led a 26-strong Indian Army group. There were 468 permits issued for foreign climbers from 48 expeditions to Everest this spring. Nepal’s other eight-thousanders together had only 17 expeditions. Nepal has more than 1,000 peaks above 6,000m, and has opened only 476 of them for climbing.&nbsp;

The Everest Industry

While Nepal marked <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a> Day on 29 May, on the other side of the planet in the US state of Colorado dozens of Nepalis who have climbed the world’s highest peak multiple times were busy working as chefs and Uber drivers. Among them is Nima Doma Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest in 2019 after her husband Tshering Wangchu was among 16 crushed by an avalanche on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu">the Khumbu Icefall</a> five years earlier. A large serac broke off the West Shoulder of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Mt Everest </a>and fell directly on a group of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/more-porters-sick-on-everest-trail">porters and guides</a> making their way up the Icefall at 5,800m. Their bodies were flown by helicopter to Khumjung where Tshering Wangchu was born. He was excited about climbing Mt Everest for the first time.&nbsp; In Khumjung, Nima Doma felt like her own life had also ended. This was the kind of news Sherpa wives, mothers and sisters dreaded every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">mountaineering season</a>. She stayed home for more than two years grieving, but ultimately gathered up all her emotional strength to take care of her 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Nima had grown up in Khumjung hearing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/stories-of-nepal-s-summiteers">tales of adventure on the mountains </a>from their father, Ang Chubi Sherpa who had climbed Everest in 1993. He used to bring her and her sisters and brother European chocolates after every expedition, and used to tell them that the chocolate bars grew on the mountains. “It was only after we got older did we realise that he told us that chocolates grew in the mountains so we would not worry about him putting himself in harm's way,” Nima Doma recalled with a faraway look at her home in Boulder this week. Nima went to the school that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/commemorating-edmund-hillary-in-nepal,4145">Edmund Hillary</a> opened in Khumjung till Grade 8, and then dropped out to help in the kitchen and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">tend yaks</a>. She was married off to Tshering Wangchu, who was also a high altitude guide. When Tshering went on expeditions, Nima also started working as a porter from Namche to Base Camp. It was perhaps her father’s tales of mountains of chocolates that had always attracted her to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">the peaks</a>. After her husband was killed ten years ago this month, being a widow with children was not easy for Nima Doma. But she was not alone: there were at least 200 single mothers in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khumbu-since-1950-jaww4qn0">the Khumbu</a>, and 20 of them just in Khumjung whose husbands had been killed in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695">mountaineering accidents</a>. Some were not even 20 years old, and had children growing up without fathers. But there were also women in the 50s whose husbands had been killed in the 1980s. Nima found sponsors for her children’s education, and moved to Kathmandu. In the capital, Sherpa widows used to meet to help each other. Some of them had joined the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) training for rock and ice climbing. “I decided that it was no use sitting home and crying anymore, after meeting other single mothers I felt less alone,” remembers Nima, who joined the Juniper Foundation and enrolled in an NMA training camp in Manang. There she climbed Chulu East (6,584m) and met Furadiki Sherpa, whose rope-fixing husband had also been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">killed on Everest</a> in 2013. They set themselves the goal of climbing Everest one day, and started a fund-raising drive.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2678" height="1274" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  “We decided we had to overcome society’s stigma of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/widows-personal-happiness-comes-last-in-face-of-social-financial-hardships,1855">widowhood</a> and prove that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-junko-tabei">women could also climb mountains</a>,” Nima said, adding that she was inspired by Nepal’s first woman Everest summiteer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who died during her descent in 1993. Nima Doma and Furdiki climbed the technically-difficult Ama Dablam (6,812m) and then arrived at Everest Base Camp in April 2019 as part of their Two Widows Expedition with the motto, ‘So Can We’. While climbing up the Icefall Nima passed the spot where her husband had been killed. It was a jumble of constantly-shifting ice blocks bigger than houses. She closed her eyes and said a prayer. “I remember thinking, this is so difficult and dangerous. This is what my husband had to do to support our family,” Nima Doma said. “I was determined to fulfil my husband’s dream of climbing Chomolungma, and to prove to ourselves that we two women could do it.” It was 23 May 2019 when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/two-sherpa-widows-scale-everest-and-smash-stigma-idUSKCN1SU0MV/" target="_blank">Nima and Furdiki stepped on the summit</a> and looked over into Tibet, and down at Tengboche Monastery to the south.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b.png" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="1522" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  Nima Doma hugged Furdiki, took off her mask and wept. But for the first time in five years, it was not from grief but relief — relief for being free of all the sadness and sacrifices and for fulfilling her husband’s dream. They had found <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-after-death">life after death</a>. “I felt this immense joy to be on top of the world, it was indescribable,” Nima Doma said, “I have wept only twice in my life. Once when my husband died, and once there on top of Everest.” The tears had frozen on Nima Doma’s cheeks, as she and Furdiki headed back down the mountain.