Last Updated:
Addressing the summit, the UN Secretary-General said the amounts currently available through the Loss and Damage Fund are “completely ridiculous”
Shishir Khanal said the Nepal floods were not a “local tragedy”, but “symptom of a global crisis that Nepal did not create”. (X)
“We are asking for what we call is climate justice,” Nepal foreign minister Shishir Khanal delivered a direct message to world leaders on Wednesday, as they gathered in New York for the High-Level Event on Climate Action at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
Hit by what officials described as a “Himalayan Tsunami”, Nepal has already lost over 1,400 people, with 6,000 still unaccounted for after the Bhotekoshi floods swept through the country on August 26. According to government data, 10 per cent of those still missing belong to over 38 different countries.
Speaking at the first major UN summit since the catastrophe, Khanal said it was not a “local tragedy”, but “symptom of a global crisis that Nepal did not create”. Highlighting the loss of nearly $5 billion, which is 15 per cent of the country’s GDP and a third of its annual budget, he implored the world leaders to treat climate action as a matter of justice, not charity.
“Nepal contributes less than 0.1 per cent to the global Greenhouse gas emissions, 46 per cent of its land is covered by forests. Over 70 per cent of the new consumer vehicles sold in Nepal are Electric Vehicles (EVs). Over 90 per cent of the energy comes from hydroelectric power. Yet, we have suffered disproportionately, and repeatedly,” he remarked.
Delivering a direct message, the minister said vulnerable countries cannot navigate this crisis with “fragmented support, unpredictable finance and slow-moving mechanism”.
“We need scaled-up, front-loaded and accessible climate finance that reaches communities before the disaster strikes, not after the devastation has already occurred. Adaptation must be prioritised. It is not optional, it is a lifeline. Doubling adaptation finance is an overdue obligation. The Loss and Damage fund must be adequately capitalised. It should be faster, simpler and accessible,” he asserted. “We are asking for what we call is climate justice.”
WHERE IS CLIMATE FINANCE?
The Nepal government has already sought UN-backed loss and damage funding for $20 million, though the losses run up in billions. Established at COP27 in 2022, approved at COP28 in Dubai, the L&D fund was operationalised last year after 30 years of campaigning by most vulnerable countries.
The Climate Summit was convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres inviting leaders and heads of state to spell out annually what progress they are making towards global climate action. In his opening speech, the UN Chief said the world is crying out for climate justice—in mitigation, in adaptation, and in finance. “Let’s be honest: the amounts available in the Loss and Damage Fund are completely ridiculous,” he said, reiterating that polluters must pay.
“That means mobilising at least 300 billion US dollars a year for developing countries, with developed countries taking the lead, and scaling up climate finance to 1.3 trillion US dollars a year by 2035,” he said. He called upon countries to triple adaptation finance, and ensure ambitious replenishment of the Green Climate Fund and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.
The summit was attended by several world leaders, including Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Türkiye, which will host the upcoming UN Climate Summit COP31 in November. He said COP31 would focus on “implementation” and added climate objectives will need to be reconciled with “social and economic realities”.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Nepal has suffered losses of nearly $5 billion, which accounts for 15 per cent of the country’s GDP and a third of its annual budget, following the devastating Bhotekoshi floods on August 26.
Ask News18About the Author
Srishti Choudhary, Associate Editor at CNN-News18 specializes in science, environment, and climate change reporting. With over a decade of extensive field experience, she has brought incisive ground r…Read More
New York, United States of America (USA)
September 24, 2026, 16:31 IST
Read More
