After catastrophic Bhotekoshi floods caused immense loss of life and property, Nepal is pushing for access to the international Loss and Damage Fund to recover from one of its worst-ever climate crises. Prime Minister Balendra Shah and civil society leaders are strongly advocating for urgent climate justice.
Following the destruction of several human settlements, the Nepal government formally dispatched a request letter to the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. The board has initiated informal discussions on how to respond to Nepal’s appeal.
Spokesperson at Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “Nepal contributes a negligible share of global emissions, yet our people bear a disproportionate burden of the impacts of a warming Himalayas. Nepal has consistently drawn international attention to this reality, including through the first edition of the Sagarmatha Sambaad and through various international forums, said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson further said: “The lesson is clear: climate justice, effective early-warning systems, disaster preparedness and resilient reconstruction must move from commitments on paper to concrete action on the ground. We have already written a letter to the Co-Chairs of the Board of Loss and Damage Fund for immediate support. The Fund was established at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt in 2022, with early pledges from countries like the UAE, Germany, the USA, and Japan totaling $700m. It was formally adopted at COP28 in Dubai in 2023. While the Fund has now received $820m in total global pledges, only half of that amount has actually materialized.
Experts estimate that Nepal may receive around $20m in the coming months. However, experts stress that at least $100bn must be allocated annually by 2030 to meaningfully address global natural disaster losses.
A recent report by Oxfam and the CARE Climate Justice Center highlights a troubling trend: developing countries are now paying more back to wealthy nations in climate finance loan repayments than they receive in actual aid, as 65 percent of climate funding is delivered in the form of loans rather than grants.
Support for vulnerable nations remains uncertain as global priorities shift toward conflict and rearmament. The United States has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement and scaled back climate funding, while European nations are redirecting financial resources into defense and security arrangements. Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether emerging economies like China and India will contribute to the Loss and Damage Fund.
In the COP1, Nepal and other least developed countries are likely to strongly raise the issue of climate justice. Nepal faces injustice because its contribution to the global greenhouse is negligible fraction. Over the past few decades, Nepal has been raising this issue for a long time.
Developed nations largely built their wealth on a post-industrial coal boom that released massive greenhouse gas emissions. Major developed economies—including the G7 nations, Australia, and European Union member states—built their wealth on carbon-intensive, post-industrial growth fueled primarily by coal. Because this historical reliance on fossil fuels generated a massive share of global greenhouse gas emissions, these nations bear the central financial responsibility for driving and funding the current global climate transition.
