Nepal places climate justice in the centre of its global appeal for flood relief

Officials said that Nepal, which has been devastated by floods, will be asking wealthy countries and international agencies for financial assistance this week. They will argue they should contribute the $5 billion required for initial rebuilding, as the disaster is a reminder of how climate change affects 'poor' countries who did not cause it.

Since the collapse of the Himalayan Glacier in late August, which caused destruction in the valleys below it, more than 5,300 people are still missing in Nepal and China’s Tibet region.

In Nepal, the torrent swept over 12 hydropower plants as well as roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

Dharam Raj Uprety, Nepal's Disaster Management Chief, said that Nepal's initial estimate of funds will cover the first phase recovery in the next five month and be shared with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank as well as the embassies and countries of the United States, Britain and other blocs such India, China and Japan.

"It is not just a flood-induced disaster, but a massive one. He said that climate change caused a disaster ...".

This week, the UN is highlighting for the first-time Nepal's plan of positioning its $5 billion rebuilding needs as a climate justice concern in its outreach to countries and agencies.

Climate Change Impact: A Shared Responsibility

Officials in Nepal have used the tragedy as an example to illustrate the impact of climate change on developing countries.

Nepal expects that global agencies and partners "recognise and take responsibility for this type of event", although it is not the responsibility of the country to determine how much each partner should contribute, according to Prakash Pokhrel a geologist with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

Pokhrel stated, "We don't need to say what causes climate change. You already know the reasons why it is occurring and who contributes most to this."

"Countries such as Nepal do not contribute much to climate change but they face this level of catastrophe." Why should the responsibility not be shared by all of humanity?

China is responsible for about a third (or more) of all global emissions. The United States, and Nepal's neighbour India are also major emitters. Nepal's submissions to the United Nations claim that it has made a negligible contribution to greenhouse gas emissions in the past and present.

Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said that China was willing to offer assistance in its capacity to Nepal after the disaster.

Guo stated that Beijing immediately offered assistance to Nepal while relief and rescue efforts were ongoing on the Chinese side of border.

He said that he believed the Nepalese people would be able, under the leadership of their government, to recover from the disaster and build their homes as soon as possible.

The arrival of funds is usually slow

The experience of Pakistan, a country in South Asia, shows that funding for natural disasters is often slow to arrive and can lag behind initial commitments.

After devastating floods in 2022 that caused millions to be displaced, Pakistan received about $11 billion from international partners. These included the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Saudi Arabia. Nearly 42% of the pledges, or $4.6 billion, was used to import oil by international partners instead of direct flood reconstruction.

In early 2024 the government estimated only $3.4 billion had been actually disbursed. The oil funding accounted $1.45 billion of the total disbursed.

Officials said that the Nepal government was finalising a document?detailing extent of damage, losses, and funding requirements for schools, temporary shelters and essential infrastructure.

The donor outreach comes ahead of Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s speech at the United Nations, scheduled for September 24. He is expected to ask for greater international support in developing countries that are vulnerable to climate change.

(source: Reuters)