KATHMANDU - Nepal is stepping up calls for major greenhouse gas emitters to take action against climate change after devastating floods triggered by what is believed to have been a glacier collapse linked to global warming struck the Himalayan nation in August.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah, a former rapper who took office in March, appealed for international solidarity at the U.N. General Assembly in September, warning that Nepal was paying a heavy price for climate change despite contributing little to global greenhouse gas emissions.
The disaster has highlighted growing concerns over the threat posed by melting glaciers, while rising sea levels are also putting vulnerable island nations at risk, prompting aid officials to stress the need for greater international cooperation.
"Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions. We did not create this crisis. Yet we are paying a colossal price for it," Shah told world leaders in New York on Sept. 24.
Shah attended the gathering himself following the disaster, although Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal had originally been scheduled to represent Nepal.
Describing the devastating floods as what many had called a "Himalayan tsunami," Shah urged world leaders to take concrete action rather than simply make promises.
"Climate justice cannot just remain a beautiful phrase in a United Nations document," he said.
His appeal comes as the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters face mounting pressure to do more to tackle climate change.
China accounted for 29.2 percent of global emissions in 2024, while the combined share of China, the United States and India reached 48.5 percent.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration formally repealed most of the greenhouse gas emission standards introduced for fossil fuel-fired power plants, marking a further rollback of U.S. climate regulations.
One expert has warned that the threat of similar disasters is increasing in mountainous countries as global warming accelerates the melting of snow and ice.
Rijan Bhakta Kayastha, a professor of Kathmandu University, who studied glaciers at Nagoya University's graduate school in Japan, said observations showed that temperatures in the higher reaches of the Himalayas were rising faster than the national average.
This was accelerating the melting of snow and ice, he said, warning that other mountainous countries also faced a growing risk of disasters.
The effects of global warming are not confined to mountain regions. Rising sea levels are also threatening low-lying island nations, including Tuvalu and Vanuatu, raising fears that parts of their territory could eventually be submerged.
Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine voiced similar concerns at the United Nations, saying that continued investment in fossil fuels was "not only immoral but irrational."
In Nepal, efforts are underway to strengthen measures to prevent further disasters, with international aid officials calling for greater investment in preparedness.
Kyoko Yokosuka, the U.N. Development Programme's resident representative in Nepal, who is involved in relief efforts following the floods, said satellite-based glacier monitoring, stronger early warning systems and information sharing with neighboring countries were essential to reducing the risks.
She also stressed the importance of investing in disaster prevention before calamities strike, rather than relying solely on relief efforts afterward.
The Nepalese government and the UNDP launched an initiative this year to lower water levels at four glacial lakes in the country by constructing artificial drainage channels, part of efforts to reduce the danger of sudden flooding.
For those who have already lost their homes, however, the focus is on whether the international community will heed Nepal's warning.
Min Kumar Khatiwada, 54, whose home in Devighat in central Nepal was damaged by the floods, forcing him to move elsewhere, said he hoped Shah's appeal would lead to meaningful action.
"The prime minister has raised an important issue," he said after listening to the speech. "I hope people around the world will listen to Nepal's message and take steps to address the problem."
