KATHMANDU, Sept. 25: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has described the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster as a warning to the world, calling for stronger international action on climate change, climate justice and support for countries most vulnerable to its impacts.
Addressing the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Shah said the disaster was not merely a local tragedy but a consequence of a global climate crisis.
“Climate change does not recognize borders. Glaciers and floods do not travel with a visa stamped on passports,” Shah said, stressing that countries like Nepal are bearing a disproportionate burden despite contributing little to global greenhouse gas emissions.
He said Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and did not create the climate crisis but is paying a “colossal price” for it.
Beyond Bhotekoshi: A Wider Warning
Shah called for climate justice to go beyond commitments and statements in international documents. He said people in vulnerable countries should be able to build their future instead of constantly rebuilding what disasters destroy.
“The Himalayas are not peripheral to the planet. They are part of the planet’s life-support system,” he said, underscoring the global importance of protecting the Himalayan region.
Shah also urged the international community to respond more quickly to climate-related disasters, saying countries facing emergencies should not be burdened with lengthy procedures before receiving assistance.
“When the house is burning, we do not ask the family to complete fifty forms. We act,” he said.
He also drew attention to the imbalance between global resources devoted to war and those available for food and livelihoods. “We have built a world with flawless logistics for war and broken logistics for food,” Shah said.
Calling for a comprehensive approach to climate disasters, he said the international response should include “relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction” as well as “responsibility, reparation and resilience.”
Shah proposed making the Himalayas a laboratory of international cooperation rather than a region where information and responses remain fragmented.
“Let the Himalayas become a laboratory of international cooperation, rather than a frontier of fragmented information,” he said.
He also linked the challenges faced by vulnerable countries to both climate change and global conflicts, saying Nepal had been “hit by the climate we did not warm, and hit again by the wars we did not start.”
Shah called for greater access to resources and technology for affected communities, particularly farmers. He questioned how a world capable of delivering weapons anywhere within 72 hours could fail to provide farmers with the means to sustain a decent livelihood.
Shah's address placed climate change, climate justice and the protection of the Himalayas at the heart of Nepal's message at the UN General Assembly.
