At UN, Nepal PM Balendra Shah urges climate justice after deadly floods

Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah returned home on Saturday after attending the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, where he urged the international community to turn climate justice into action. At the General Debate in New York on September 24, he highlighted Nepal's vulnerability to climate change despite its negligible contribution to global emissions.

Speaking under the theme, "Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All," Shah drew attention to last month's devastating Bhotekoshi floods and called for greater global responsibility, international cooperation and easier access to climate finance for countries such as Nepal.

According to a press release issued by Nepal's Foreign Ministry, Shah said Nepal contributes only 0.1 per cent to greenhouse gas emissions but remains at the forefront of the climate crisis. He also highlighted the impact of climate change on the Himalayan ecosystem, including the risk of floods and landslides in downstream areas caused by ice-rock avalanches linked to melting permafrost.

He called on the international community to put climate justice into practice to address the crisis facing Himalayan countries like Nepal. He also urged countries that contribute significantly to climate change, as well as those with greater resources and capabilities, to shoulder more responsibility in dealing with the crisis.

Shah also stressed the need for international cooperation and fund mobilisation for post-disaster response, including rehabilitation and reconstruction. He underlined the need to simplify access to resources from the Loss and Damage Fund and other existing climate finance mechanisms.

The August 26 flash floods, which began near the Nepal-Tibet border, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal. The Bhotekoshi River carried the floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges, and damaging hydropower projects. According to Nepalese authorities, at least 1,453 people were killed and 5,285 remain unaccounted for a month after the floods. Chinese media said the disaster also killed 43 people in Tibet, while more than 500 remain unaccounted for there, underlining the scale of the tragedy that Shah highlighted at the UN.