Kathmandu - The Ministry of Forests and Environment, which has not disclosed the expenses of the jumbo team even after a month since the conclusion of the Conference of the Parties to the International Convention on Climate Change (COP 29), has held the COP review meeting at the most expensive five-star hotel Marriot in Kathmandu.

The ministry held the review meeting at Hotel Marriott on Thursday with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli as the chief guest. Secretary of the Ministry of Forests Dr. Deepak Kumar Kharal called the review meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Devendra Dahal, Chief Ministers of provinces, representatives of national and international organizations, secretaries and joint secretaries of the Government of Nepal, and more than 100 people have been invited to the COP 29 review seminar.

A jumbo team of about 50 people from the Ministry of Forests and Environment, the Office of the President, and concerned ministries and agencies went to participate in COP 29 on behalf of the Government of Nepal. But the ministry has not yet made public the expenditure on COP and its sources. And, to the extent of not even making public the names of the government delegation to COP.

The government, which claims transparency, has not even made public the details of the millions spent on attending a conference. It has even held a review meeting in a five-star hotel. At a time when complaints are growing that grants and loans received in the name of climate change have not reached the real victims, the ministry has held a review meeting of a conference in a five-star hotel.

Minister for Forests and Environment Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri, upon returning from COP 29, had mentioned ‘interviews and high-level meetings’ among the achievements of the conference. For this, only 31 government employees from the Ministry of Forests participated under his leadership. Of these, 7 were joint secretaries who participated in COP 29 held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The other employees included undersecretaries and officers.

What did those employees do when they went to COP 29? What did Nepal achieve from it? The ministry has not made public what achievements did Nepal achieve from it.