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Nepal’s call for financial compensation following devastating floods highlights the growing need to support countries that contribute little to climate change but are increasingly bearing its deadliest consequences, the UN’s top official in Nepal said on Wednesday.
“The devastation Nepal has experienced is an extraordinary, stark illustration” of the losses and damages climate-vulnerable countries are facing, UN Resident Coordinator for Nepal Lila Pieters Yahia told reporters via video link from Kathmandu.
Nepal has contributed very little to global greenhouse gas emissions but is suffering profound human and economic consequences from a changing climate, she said.
Triggered by a melting glacier, the August 26 floods affected about 84,270 people and caused extensive damage to critical roads, schools, power grids and water systems in the northern regions of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading.
Nepal has approached the UN Loss and Damage Fund, established in 2022 to support developing countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Its request is currently under consideration.
“Nepal’s calls for climate justice speaks to a principle which lies at the heart of the international climate framework,” Yahia said, stressing that vulnerable countries need adequate and accessible support to cope with losses and damages they did little to cause.
Yahia visited some of the worst-hit areas over the weekend, where floodwaters had swept away entire settlements and altered riverbanks.
She met families still searching for missing relatives and said some survivors had witnessed loved ones being swept away by waves as high as 20 metres.
UN agencies and their partners have been delivering emergency assistance, although reaching the most vulnerable communities remains difficult because of damaged infrastructure and access constraints.
In a first for an emergency operation in Nepal, the World Food Programme used cargo drones to deliver food to communities cut off by the floods.
The UN and the Nepalese government launched a $49.6 million flash appeal on Friday to provide lifesaving assistance to about 84,000 people through the end of December. The appeal covers shelter, healthcare, food and cash assistance.
As of Wednesday, however, only $22 million had been received, Yahia said.
She said urgent priorities include restoring damaged water systems, deploying mobile clinics for pregnant women and expanding mental health services for people affected by the disaster.
