KATHMANDU, Sept 25: Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s address to the United Nations General Assembly has drawn coverage from international news outlets, particularly his warning that Nepal’s devastating floods point to a growing global climate threat.
Speaking at the 81st UN General Assembly in New York early Friday, Nepal time, Shah said last month’s floods were more than a local disaster. AFP, France 24, Arab News, The Korea Times, ANI and Hindustan Times were among the outlets that reported his remarks.
France 24, Arab News and The Korea Times highlighted Shah’s description of the floods as a “warning to the world”. Several outlets based their reports on an AFP dispatch.
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In his address, Shah said rising temperatures were destabilising the Himalayan ecosystem. Permafrost and glaciers are melting, he said, increasing the risk of floods, landslides and other disasters.
“Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. We did not create this crisis, yet we are paying a huge price for it,” he said.
Shah called for international support to help Nepal adapt to climate change. He said Nepal could not build resilience alone, particularly when weaknesses in global governance had made the crisis harder to address.
Another part of his speech drew attention from Anadolu Agency and Outlook India: a proposal for a Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism involving Nepal, India and China. Shah said the three countries could use it to share satellite data and scientific expertise, monitor dangerous glacial lakes, strengthen joint early warning systems and coordinate assistance across borders during disasters.
“Let us make the Himalayas a laboratory of international cooperation, rather than a region divided by fragmented information,” he said.
Shah also urged world leaders to turn climate justice into practical support instead of leaving it in UN documents. Wealthier countries should increase grant-based climate finance, he said.
The Hindu Kush Himalayan region supports nearly two billion people, Shah noted. Its rivers and ecosystems sustain water supplies, farming and livelihoods far beyond Nepal’s borders.
