Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle Named in TIME's 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders

Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle has been included in TIME magazine's list of the 100 most influential climate leaders of 2026, recognised for highlighting Nepal's climate vulnerability and for advocating international compensation for climate related losses.

In its profile, published on Monday, the magazine credited Wagle with keeping Nepal's climate case at the forefront of international discussions after the devastating glacial floods that hit the country in August, which claimed more than 1,500 lives and displaced thousands of people.

The magazine noted that developing countries contribute only a small share of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet bear a disproportionate burden of the consequences, from rising temperatures and melting glaciers to glacial lake outburst floods and increasingly unpredictable weather.

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After the August disaster, Nepal formally approached China, the United States and India, the world's three largest greenhouse gas emitters, seeking compensation for climate related losses and damage. The estimated cost of recovery has reached about 5 billion dollars.

Wagle also pressed the international community to support Nepal through the Loss and Damage Fund, the global financing mechanism set up to help vulnerable countries recover from climate induced destruction. The United Nations has provisionally approved 21.6 million dollars for Nepal from the fund, its first ever allocation.

The recognition comes as the COP31 climate conference gets under way in Antalya, Türkiye. Wagle left for Türkiye on Monday to join the conference, where Nepal is expected to argue for increased climate financing, stronger adaptation support and greater recognition of the vulnerabilities facing mountain countries.