Guwahati: Nepal has sought climate compensation from India, China and the United States following the devastating flash floods in the Rasuwa district, with Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal saying Kathmandu is shifting its approach from seeking aid to demanding climate justice.
Khanal said Nepal’s greenhouse gas emissions were “practically negligible” but that the country was bearing the consequences of a global climate crisis it had contributed little to creating. He said major emitters have a historical responsibility towards climate-vulnerable countries such as Nepal.
“We are shifting our diplomatic framework from ‘aid’ to ‘justice and compensation’,” Khanal said in an interview with Kantipur TV. “This is not a matter of charity; it is a matter of legal and moral liability.”
The foreign minister said the Ministry of Finance had formally sent a climate compensation claim to international partners and that Nepal would raise the issue at upcoming international forums.
The demand follows the August 26 flash floods in the Bhotekoshi river basin, which have caused widespread destruction across northern Nepal. The disaster was linked to an ice-rock avalanche, with authorities continuing search and recovery operations across several affected districts.
Khanal also warned that the effects of climate change in the Himalayas could have consequences far beyond Nepal. He said the loss of Himalayan glaciers could threaten water security for more than two billion people in South Asia who depend on rivers including the Ganges and Trishuli.
“This is a matter of civilisational survival,” Khanal said.
Nepal is also considering taking its demand for climate justice to the United Nations. Government officials are discussing whether Prime Minister Balendra Shah should attend the 81st UN General Assembly and use the forum to highlight the impact of climate change on Nepal, including the recent floods.
The Cabinet has already decided that Khanal will represent Nepal at the General Assembly. Officials are considering whether Shah should also attend, arguing that the issue could carry greater political weight if presented personally by the prime minister.
The issue was also discussed at a meeting convened by Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, which was attended by cabinet ministers and experts, according to local media reports.
Alongside its compensation demand, Nepal has formally approached the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage for urgent financial assistance following the Bhotekoshi floods. The fund was agreed at COP27 in 2022 and became operational at COP28. Nepal’s request is reportedly its first application to the mechanism.
Maheshwar Dhakal, a joint secretary at Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and a member of the fund’s board, said the scale of the disaster has placed a heavy burden on the country’s search and rescue, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. He said Nepal was seeking an urgent response rather than waiting for the board’s next scheduled meeting in December.
In its submission, Nepal described the floods as an extreme event in a fragile transboundary mountain river system, highlighting the risks posed by rapid changes in the Himalayan cryosphere.
The disaster has killed more than 1,000 people and left thousands missing. Nepal’s latest official figures released on September 2 put the death toll at 1,127, with 4,858 people still reported missing.
India has provided relief supplies and technical assistance to Nepal. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India has sent 68.5 tonnes of relief material along with technical teams, forensic experts and specialised equipment for search-and-rescue operations.
Khanal’s demand is rooted in Nepal’s argument that countries with higher historical and current greenhouse gas emissions should bear greater responsibility for climate-related losses in vulnerable nations.
India has long advocated the principle of climate equity, maintaining that climate responsibilities should take into account historical emissions, development needs and countries’ respective capacities to act. New Delhi has also backed international efforts to address loss and damage in vulnerable developing countries and called for adequate climate finance.