NEW DELHI: Nepal is seeking “climate-related compensation” from the United States, India, and China — which the Himalayan nation named as the major greenhouse emitters — for deadly flash floods in the Bhotkoshi River that swept away villages across at least three districts in the country a week ago.
So far, emergency teams have recovered more than 1,100 bodies, but nearly 4,500 people still remain missing after the gigantic wave of freezing water, rocks, and debris triggered by a high-altitude glacial collapse roared down the Tibet-Nepal border last week.
Launching a diplomatic pitch to seek international monetary assistance, Nepal Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal asserted that post-disaster aid should be treated as a matter of “moral liability,” “not charity.”
The minister said in Nepali during an interview with Kantipur TV, the excerpts of which were published by The Kathmandu Post newspaper
He pointed out that despite contributing “virtually negligible” greenhouse gas emissions, Nepal is 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.
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.”
“The major industrial emitters — such as China, which is the world’s top emitter, the United States at number two, and India at number three — have a historical responsibility to compensate vulnerable nations like Nepal,” he said.
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The Culprits
Khanal said Kathmandu plans to raise the issue of climate change “with absolute firmness and clarity” at international forums. He said the country will also 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 civilization,” he said.
The minister said Nepal’s finance ministry has officially dispatched a formal climate compensation claim letter to its international partners.
“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 civilization,” he added.
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