Nepal Takes Flood Pain to COP31, Demanding Climate Justice and Finance

Nepal has joined the 31st United Nations climate conference, COP31, in Antalya, Türkiye, carrying the pain of the floods that swept its mountain valleys this year and demanding climate justice and finance from the international community.

The Nepali delegation, led by Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal, will press for climate finance in the form of grants rather than loans, easier access to the loss and damage fund, and a firm commitment to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Nepal contributes almost nothing to global greenhouse gas emissions, yet it is paying a heavy price for them, the delegation will argue.

The Bhotekoshi flood of 26 August killed more than 1,450 people and left more than 5,000 missing, according to Nepal's national position paper for the summit, and affected around 60,000 people. The Budhi Gandaki flood of 11 October swept away homes, displaced thousands of people and destroyed three hydropower projects. Damage from the Bhotekoshi disaster alone is estimated at about 2.7 billion dollars, with about 4.7 billion dollars needed for recovery and reconstruction.

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The loss and damage fund has set aside 21.6 million dollars for Nepal after the Bhotekoshi flood, but the money has not yet been disbursed. Nepal will demand that the fund's rapid response mechanism be made permanent, so that help reaches disaster-hit communities quickly after a catastrophe instead of arriving months late.

Khanal will address the opening session of the conference on Monday and take part in the leaders' summit on 11 and 12 November. Environment Minister Gita Chaudhary, who travels to Antalya on Tuesday, will lead the technical negotiations, while Health Minister Nisha Mehta will speak on the damage climate change is doing to public health. Nepal and Bhutan have jointly put the 1.5-degree goal and the protection of mountain regions on the conference agenda.

Nepal has set up its own pavilion at the venue, with more than 40 side events planned, and on 12 November it will join Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan and Pakistan for a high-level event on glaciers, mountain resilience and sustainable finance. Nepal and South Korea are also expected to sign an agreement on carbon trading during the conference.

For Nepal, the summit is a chance to turn its losses into a case the world cannot ignore: that countries which did least to cause the climate crisis should not be left to pay for it alone.