India, Sept. 28 -- Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal laid the diplomatic groundwork. Prime Minister Balendra Shah has now carried it to the leaders' level - and done something harder than plead for sympathy after the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli catastrophe. He has turned a national tragedy into an argument about climate justice, financing, resilience and the failures of global governance.

Climate, Shah told the UN General Assembly, respects no border. Khanal had already framed the disaster as an extraordinary Himalayan catastrophe and placed Nepal's experience before the international community, arguing that climate-induced disasters do not respect political boundaries. Shah carried the message further, describing the tragedy as a warning to humani...