"We Have Suffered Disproportionately," Nepal Seeks Climate Justice At UN After Bhotekoshi Floods

Nepal has called on world leaders to deliver “climate justice” as the country struggles to recover from devastating Bhotekoshi floods that have killed more than 1,400 people and left around 6,000 missing. Addressing the High-Level Event on Climate Action during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said the disaster was not a local tragedy but a consequence of a global climate crisis Nepal had contributed little to creating.

The floods, described by officials as a “Himalayan Tsunami”, swept through Nepal on August 26. Government estimates put the economic damage at nearly $5 billion, about 15 per cent of Nepal’s GDP and roughly a third of its annual budget. Around 10 per cent of those still missing are believed to be foreign nationals from more than 38 countries.

Nepal Says Climate Vulnerability Must Bring Greater Finance

Khanal told world leaders that Nepal contributes less than 0.1 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, while forests cover 46 per cent of its land. More than 70 per cent of newly sold consumer vehicles in the country are electric, while over 90 per cent of its electricity comes from hydropower.

“Yet, we have suffered disproportionately, and repeatedly,” Khanal said, arguing that climate action must be treated as an issue of justice rather than charity.

Nepal has already sought $20 million from the UN-backed Loss and Damage Fund, despite estimating losses from the floods in billions of dollars. Khanal said vulnerable countries could not respond to increasingly severe climate disasters through “fragmented support, unpredictable finance and slow-moving mechanisms”.

He called for climate finance to be scaled up, front-loaded and made accessible to communities before disasters strike. Adaptation finance, he said, should be doubled, while the Loss and Damage Fund needs adequate capitalisation and a faster and simpler process for accessing funds.

UN Chief Calls Loss And Damage Funding ‘Completely Ridiculous’

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed the call for greater climate finance in his opening remarks, saying the world was demanding climate justice in mitigation, adaptation and financing.

“Let’s be honest: the amounts available in the Loss and Damage Fund are completely ridiculous,” Guterres said, arguing that countries responsible for a larger share of emissions should shoulder greater financial responsibility.

He called for at least $300 billion a year to be mobilised for developing countries, with developed nations taking the lead, and for climate finance to reach $1.3 trillion annually by 2035. He also urged countries to triple adaptation finance and ensure ambitious replenishment of the Green Climate Fund and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.

The Loss and Damage Fund was agreed at COP27 in 2022, approved at COP28 in Dubai and operationalised in 2025 following decades of demands from vulnerable developing countries.

The New York climate summit brought together several world leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Türkiye is scheduled to host COP31 in November. Erdoğan said the summit would focus on implementation while recognising the need to reconcile climate objectives with social and economic realities.