Key facts
- Nepal is seeking $5 billion in climate justice aid for flood rebuilding.
- Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal urged major polluting countries to accept shared responsibility for the disaster.
- The floods, triggered by a melting glacier collapse in late August, killed over 1,300 people and left 5,500 missing.
- Nepal contributes less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
- The Himalayas are warming nearly 50% faster than the global average.
- Nepal has requested $20 million from the UN's loss and damage fund.
Nepal is seeking $5 billion in climate justice aid to rebuild following devastating floods caused by a Himalayan glacier collapse in late August. Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal urged the world's most polluting countries to "wake up" and accept shared responsibility for the disaster, which resulted in over 1,300 confirmed deaths and left 5,500 people missing.
Scientists believe the climate crisis played a role in the floods, which were triggered by a melting glacier's partial collapse in Chinese-controlled Tibet, leading to a landslide and flash flooding through Tibet and Nepal. The Himalayan region is warming at a rate nearly 50% faster than the global average, and Nepal's mountains have lost close to a third of their ice in just over 30 years.
Khanal stated that the disaster was far more extreme than typical monsoon flooding, comparing the magnitude of damage to the 2015 earthquake. He described the event as a "tsunami" with waves as high as 70 feet, mixed with debris, mud, stones, and rocks, travelling at speeds of up to 180 km per hour, wiping out towns, villages, and highways. Nepal has formally requested $20 million in climate-related damages from the UN's fund for responding to loss and damage.
Nepal contributes less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, while neighbours India and China are among the largest emitters. Khanal acknowledged that the requested compensation was "not nearly enough" to cover the estimated $5 billion in total damage, which could be even higher. He emphasised that the demand serves as a "wake-up call" for the global community to establish a more robust mechanism to aid vulnerable economies. The UN fund is already facing a significant financing gap, having received requests totalling $2.8 billion from 119 countries but only disbursing around $400 million.