Nepal asks UN fund for $20m after deadly glacial floods

Nepal has asked the United Nations’ Loss and Damage Fund for $20 million after floods linked to a reported glacial collapse killed more than 1,300 people and left more than 5,000 missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet region.

The joint request from Nepal’s finance and environment ministries follows public calls for climate justice from President Ramchandra Paudel and Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal. The disaster struck on 26 August after part of a mountain glacier collapsed, sending water and mud into Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot regions and Tibet, according to Al Jazeera.

Nepal contributes less than 0.1 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and generates most of its electricity from renewable sources. Its government argues that the country’s Himalayan geography leaves it highly exposed to glacial loss, floods and other climate-related hazards despite its limited contribution to global warming.

Preliminary estimates from Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority put property, housing and infrastructure losses at about $2.56 billion. Scientists reportedly link the floods to the effects of climate change, although the material does not establish a detailed independent attribution of the disaster.

The Loss and Damage Fund was established in 2022 but is facing a reported $2.8 billion funding gap as it prepares to approve its first climate recovery projects. Nepal’s request has not been approved, and it is unclear when any funds could be disbursed.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah is scheduled to raise the claim at the United Nations General Assembly later this month. A 2025 International Court of Justice advisory opinion said states breaching climate obligations could face reparations, including compensation, but the opinion is not legally binding and does not establish an automatic entitlement to payment.