Nepal seeks $20 million in climate compensation after floods
Nepal has appealed to the UN Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage for $20 million in climate compensation following devastating floods in late August. As The Guardian reports, Nepalese Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal called on the world’s largest economies to assume shared responsibility for the country’s recovery.
Scale of the disaster
Floods and landslides began after the partial collapse of a melting glacier and affected Chinese-controlled Tibet and Nepal. At the time of publication, the deaths of more than 1,300 people had been confirmed, while over 5,500 others were considered missing. After 12 days of search-and-rescue operations, hopes of finding survivors had significantly diminished.
Khanal said the disaster was far more powerful than ordinary monsoon floods. According to him, waves of debris, mud and rocks reached 18–21 metres in height and moved at speeds of nearly 180 km/h. The floods destroyed settlements, roads and highways, while some areas remained cut off.
Damage from the disaster is estimated to exceed $5 billion, although the minister suggested that the actual amount could be even higher. Authorities expect that more than 20,000 homes and the main highway will require reconstruction. Villages in vulnerable areas along rivers, some of which were completely washed away, may be relocated to safer higher ground.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Call for climate responsibility
Nepal accounts for less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, while India and China are among the world’s largest emitters. The Himalayas, which extend across India, China, Nepal and Bhutan, are warming nearly 50% faster than the global average. The UN reported in 2023 that Nepal’s mountains had lost nearly one-third of their ice in just over 30 years due to global warming.
Nepal’s finance and environment ministries sent a joint letter to the UN fund, established in 2022, requesting $20 million. Khanal stressed that this amount would not cover all losses but should serve as a signal for creating a more effective mechanism to support small and vulnerable economies.
According to the UN, the fund has already received requests totaling $2.8 billion from about 119 countries, but the international community has provided only around $400 million. The minister also said he was discussing stronger coordination and data sharing in the Himalayan region with China. He denied claims that China had failed to give Nepal adequate warning, noting that neither Nepalese nor Chinese scientists knew that the glacier collapse was imminent.
