Stories
Nepal PM Shah Returns, Demands Climate Justice at UNGA After Devastating Floods
- •Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah returned home after attending the 81st UN General Assembly, where he advocated for climate justice.
- •Shah highlighted the devastating Bhotekoshi floods in central Nepal and the disproportionate impact of climate change on Himalayan nations, despite Nepal's negligible greenhouse gas emissions.
- •He called on the international community to implement climate justice and urged major contributors to climate change and resource-rich countries to take greater responsibility.
- •Shah emphasized the need for international cooperation, fund mobilization for post-disaster rehabilitation, and simplified access to the Loss and Damage Fund.
- •The August 26 flash floods near the Nepal-Tibet border caused widespread destruction, killing 1,453 people in Nepal and 43 in Tibet, with many still unaccounted for.
Key Questions Answered
Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah highlighted the severe impacts of climate change on the Himalayan ecosystem and called for climate justice to be put into practice. He pointed out that Nepal contributes a negligible 0.1 percent to greenhouse gas emissions yet faces the brunt of the climate crisis, drawing international attention to the devastating Bhotekoshi floods.
The August 26 flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal. Nepalese authorities reported that at least 1,453 people were killed and 5,285 remained unaccounted for a month after the disaster, which also swept away homes, infrastructure, and hydropower projects.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah urged major greenhouse gas emitters and wealthy nations to shoulder greater responsibility for the climate crisis. He underscored the need for international cooperation, funding mobilization for rehabilitation and reconstruction, and simplified access to resources from the Loss and Damage Fund.
