Nepal seeks climate compensation for deadly flood; says it is 'moral liability', 'not charity'

KATHMANDU: Nepal has launched a diplomatic push to seek climate-related compensation from greenhouse emitters for the devastation caused by the recent deadly flash floods, asserting that post-disaster assistance should be treated as a matter of "moral liability", "not charity".

Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said Nepal, despite contributing "virtually negligible" greenhouse gas emissions, are bearing the disproportionate consequences of global warming, including rapid glacier melt and extreme mountain disasters.

"We are paying the ultimate price for a global crisis we did not create. The rapid melting of glaciers and these catastrophic mountain tsunamis are direct consequences of global climate change," he said in an interview with Kantipur TV, the excerpts of which were published by The Kathmandu Post newspaper on Tuesday.

Khanal said Nepal is shifting its diplomatic framework from “aid” to “justice and compensation”.

"This is not a matter of charity; it is a matter of legal and moral liability," he said.

Khanal said Nepal would raise the issue "with absolute firmness and clarity" at international forums and seek compensation from major emitters for climate-related losses suffered by vulnerable countries.

"This is a matter of civilisational survival. If our Himalayan glaciers disappear, the water security of over two billion people in South Asia dependent on rivers like the Ganges and the Trishuli will be permanently compromised. We are advocating not just for Nepal, but for the survival of South Asian civilisation," he said.

Khanal said the finance ministry has officially dispatched a formal climate compensation claim letter to its international partners.

The minister identified China, the US and India as the world's three largest greenhouse gas emitters and said they have a "historical responsibility to compensate vulnerable nations like Nepal".

India has repeatedly emphasised climate equity and highlighted its relatively low per-capita emissions. It has argued that climate obligations should take into account differences in countries' historical emissions, development needs and capacities.

India maintains that Western nations, which industrialised first, occupy the majority of the global carbon budget.

New Delhi has supported efforts to address loss and damage suffered by vulnerable developing countries, while maintaining that developed countries should provide the necessary financial resources to help such nations deal with climate impacts.

Nepal has formally approached the board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, seeking urgent financial assistance following the catastrophic flash flood in the Bhotekoshi river basin on August 26, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

The mechanism was established at COP27 in 2022 and operationalised at COP28.

A letter jointly signed by Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and Forests and Agriculture Minister Geeta Chaudhary sought an urgent response to the catastrophic flash flood, which caused widespread loss of life, displacement and destruction of homes and critical infrastructure.

"The full scale of economic and non-economic loss and damage has yet to be determined; however, preliminary information indicates that the consequences are extensive and exceed Nepal's immediate response capacity," the letter said.

Maheshwar Dhakal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Forests and a member of the Loss and Damage Fund's board, said this was the first time Nepal had sought assistance from the mechanism.

The scale of damage caused by the flood, and the search, rescue, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction required in its aftermath, has become a major challenge for Nepal, he said.

"Since we are genuinely suffering from the adverse effects of climate change, we have approached the board," Dhakal said, adding that Nepal wanted an immediate response rather than waiting for the board's next scheduled meeting in December.

The letter said the disaster had affected a fragile transboundary mountain river system and demonstrated how extreme events in the cryosphere could rapidly cascade from high mountains to densely populated downstream areas.

It highlighted impacts on water, food, energy, health, infrastructure, ecosystems and human security.

As a least developed and highly climate-vulnerable mountainous country, Nepal contributes negligibly to global greenhouse gas emissions yet continues to bear disproportionate and escalating climate impacts, the letter said.

It said the Bhotekoshi disaster demonstrates how extreme events in the cryosphere can rapidly cascade from high mountains to densely populated downstream areas, undermining development gains and affecting water, food, energy, health, infrastructure, ecosystems and human security.

“In view of the exceptional urgency and magnitude of this disaster, the Government of Nepal respectfully requests the Board to take a special decision to respond rapidly, directly, and effectively in accordance with its governing instrument,” the letter said.

The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage was established at the UN climate conference, COP27, in Egypt in 2022 to assist developing countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Its funding arrangements were further advanced, and the fund was operationalised at COP28 in Dubai in 2023.

Nepal, a least developed and highly climate-vulnerable mountainous country, has increasingly made Himalayan climate risks a central part of its international diplomacy.

Rapid warming in the Himalayas, glacier and snow melt, glacial lake risks, landslides and increasingly intense rainfall have heightened the country's exposure to climate-related disasters.