Nepal’s premier heads to UN with climate justice likely on agenda after deadly Himalayan disaster

Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah is heading to the UN with climate justice likely high on the agenda following deadly flash floods and mudslides along the border with China that left at least 1,451 people dead and 5,705 missing in Nepal, according to the Kathmandu Post.

Shah is scheduled to address the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday. It would be his first international trip since being elected and his first major international engagement since taking office March 27.

Nepal earlier said $4.78 billion is needed to rebuild areas devastated by the floods and mudslides.

Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal, who is also in New York, urged international support following the disaster to be treated as climate compensation rather than charity, describing it as a “question of justice and fairness.”

“Global communities have to come together and this cannot be seen merely as a charitable giving, but has to be part of a compensation process as well,” he said.

Khanal said Nepal was disproportionately affected by climate change despite accounting for only a tiny share of global greenhouse gas emissions.