Kathmandu, Sept. 2 -- Nepal has launched a diplomatic push seeking climate-related compensation from major greenhouse gas emitters following the devastating flash floods in the country. Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said Nepal contributes only a negligible share of global greenhouse gas emissions but is facing severe consequences of climate change, including rapidly melting glaciers and extreme weather events.
Khanal said Nepal's Ministry of Finance has formally sent a climate compensation claim to its international partners. He identified China, the United States and India as the world's three largest greenhouse gas emitters and said they have a historical responsibility to compensate climate-vulnerable countries such as Nepal. "We are shifting our diplomatic framework from aid to justice and compensation," Khanal said, describing the demand as a matter of legal and moral liability rather than charity. Nepal has also sought urgent financial assistance from the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage following the deadly flash flood in the Bhotekoshi river basin on August 26. The government said the scale of the disaster has exceeded its immediate response capacity and requested an urgent decision on financial support.
Khanal said the disaster should be viewed as part of a wider climate crisis affecting the Himalayas. He warned that continued glacier loss could threaten water security across South Asia, with millions of people dependent on Himalayan river systems. Nepal has increasingly placed climate vulnerability and Himalayan risks at the centre of its international diplomacy, highlighting the impact of glacier and snow melt, unstable slopes and extreme rainfall on the country. India has traditionally stressed the principle of climate equity, pointing to its relatively low per-capita emissions and arguing that climate responsibilities should take into account historical emissions, development needs and countries' capacity to act.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.