Nepal Urges World to Treat Post-Flood Support as Climate Compensation, Not Charity

KATHMANDU, Sept 3 — Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has called on the international community to view financial and technical assistance following recent catastrophic flash floods as climate compensation rather than charitable aid, framing the issue as a matter of global justice and fairness.

The disaster struck the Nepal-China border on Aug 26, triggering severe flash floods and mudslides caused by a glacier collapse. The death toll has reached 1,225—with 1,204 fatalities confirmed in Nepal and 21 in China—while nearly 4,757 people remain missing, including 541 in China.

Speaking in an interview on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360°, Khanal stressed that Nepal suffers disproportionately from climate change despite contributing less than 0.1 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“The glaciers are melting. The permafrost are thawing, and there is a risk of glacier flood,” Khanal said. “What we are telling to the world is, look, our contribution in this changing climate is almost negligent.”

Khanal emphasized that protecting the Himalayan ecosystem should be treated as a shared global obligation, noting that Himalayan river systems supply fresh drinking water and agricultural resources to more than two billion people across China, India, and Bangladesh.

When asked by host Anderson Cooper whether international support should be recognized as compensation rather than traditional foreign aid, Khanal affirmed the distinction.

“Exactly, this should be seen from the perspective of justice and fairness,” Khanal replied. “How fair is it for Nepali people and people of Himalayas to bear the burden of the climate change, where we have had very little contribution to it?”

Asked directly whether he attributed the fatal mudslides to global warming, the Foreign Minister affirmed that evidence unequivocally links the collapse to ongoing climate disruption.

-NMT