Nepal Floods ‘A Warning to the World’: PM Balendra Shah Calls for Global Climate Support

Nepal’s devastating floods last month were a “warning to the world” about the growing dangers of climate change, Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the United Nations on Thursday, calling for greater international support to help the Himalayan nation adapt.

Addressing the UN General Assembly during its high-level week, Shah said rising global temperatures were “destabilizing the fragile Himalayan ecology”, accelerating glacier melt and permafrost thaw and increasing the risk of extreme disasters.

Nepal experienced one of the worst catastrophes in its history late last month after a tsunami-like flood, triggered by a high-altitude glacial mountain collapse along the Nepal-China border, caused widespread destruction.

More than 1,400 people were killed, while around 6,000 remain missing. The disaster has caused economic losses estimated in the billions of dollars.

Scientists from World Weather Attribution have described the disaster as a “compound crisis”, in which local geological instability combined with the effects of long-term warming, including glacier retreat and permafrost thaw.

“Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. We did not create this crisis, yet we are paying for it,” Shah said.

Shah Calls for Himalayan Climate Mechanism

Shah urged the international community to share the financial burden of helping Nepal adapt to climate change, arguing that the country could not build resilience on its own against a crisis intensified by failures in global climate governance.

He proposed establishing a “Himalaya Climate Resilience Mechanism” involving Nepal, India and China. The proposed framework would facilitate satellite-data sharing and technical cooperation, monitoring of glacial lakes and stronger regional early-warning systems.

Climate Crisis Takes Centre Stage

Shah, a 36-year-old former rapper, came to power six months ago following youth-led anti-corruption protests that generated widespread expectations of political change.

However, the scale of the recent disaster has placed climate diplomacy at the centre of his premiership, alongside his government’s anti-corruption agenda.

Nepal has sought $20 million from the UN’s Loss and Damage Fund, the maximum amount it can currently request. The figure is only a small portion of the estimated requirements, with a preliminary government assessment putting the overall cost of the disaster at around $5 billion.

The Loss and Damage Fund was established in 2022 following devastating floods in Pakistan, but it has yet to make its first disbursement. Nepal’s request is therefore being closely watched as an important test of the fund’s ability to respond to climate-related disasters.

US, G7 and UK Offer Support

Earlier this week, the United States pledged an additional $31 million in flood-recovery assistance.

Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told AFP that G7 countries had informally promised support during a meeting on Wednesday. Britain has also pledged assistance to Nepal as it begins its recovery from the disaster.