Nepal's Prime Minister Balen Shah addressed the UN General Assembly, warning that the recent Himalayan mega-flood, which killed at least 1,450 people, is a global signal of climate risk. He highlighted that Nepal contributes less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions yet bears severe consequences. The flood's reconstruction costs are estimated at about 10% of Nepal's GDP, and Shah argues that disaster-prone countries should not be pushed into more debt. Shah called for proper grant aid rather than loans or stopgap subsidies, and proposed a Himalayan Climate Resilience System for shared satellite monitoring of glacial lakes between Nepal, India, and China. The article underscores the growing tension between climate finance as loans and the need for grants to fund adaptation in low-emitting nations. It's a concrete example of how loss and damage funding debates play out in practice.
