Nepal is seeking climate justice and $20 million in compensation after devastating floods struck parts of the country and China’s Tibet region, leaving more than 1,300 people confirmed dead and more than 5,000 still missing.
The disaster occurred on August 26 after part of a mountain glacier collapsed, sending a powerful flow of water and mud into Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot regions and parts of Tibet.
Scientists have linked the disaster to the growing effects of climate change, prompting Nepal to call for greater international responsibility toward countries that are particularly vulnerable to environmental disasters.
“We are paying the ultimate price for a global crisis we did not create,” Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said last week.
Khanal said assistance for Nepal should not be treated simply as humanitarian aid or charity. Instead, he argued that support should be considered within the broader framework of climate justice.
President Ramchandra Paudel repeated the appeal during an address to the nation on Monday.
He called on the international community to listen to countries facing serious ecological risks, including Nepal, and to take practical measures to provide climate justice.
Nepal’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Environment have jointly approached the United Nations with a request for $20 million in compensation.
The request is directed toward the UN Loss and Damage Fund, which was established in 2022 to help countries deal with losses and damage resulting from climate change. The fund was created in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
However, the fund itself faces significant financial constraints. It is currently dealing with a funding shortfall of $2.8 billion as it prepares to approve its first projects aimed at helping countries recover from climate related disasters.
Nepal’s demand highlights the growing debate over who should bear the financial burden when climate vulnerable nations experience increasingly severe environmental disasters, despite having contributed relatively little to the global climate crisis.