Nepal Gets $20M in UN Aid After $2.7B Floods: Is Climate Finance Failing Vulnerable Countries? | Today’s news
Nepal is to receive $20 million from the United Nations Climate Loss and Damage Fund after devastating August floods that killed around 1,500 people and left more than 5,000 missing.
But the allocation covers less than 1% of the country’s estimated reconstruction costs, raising questions about whether global climate finance is reaching vulnerable countries to the extent they need.
The Loss and Damage Response Fund (FRLD) at a meeting on Thursday, October 22, agreed to set aside the money through an emergency procedure, the Nepalese government said.
The aid is to “help address severe damage caused by a climate-related disaster,” the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment said in a statement, according to Reuters.
The allocation marks a major step for the fund, which was set up to help developing countries cope with climate-related destruction.
However, the money has not yet been paid. Nepal must submit a detailed proposal to the fund’s board for approval before making the payment.
The disaster began on August 26 when an avalanche of ice and rocks near Nepal’s border with China’s Tibet region triggered devastating floods downstream.
According to official figures cited by Reuters, the floods affected around 60,000 people from 15,000 families and damaged critical infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools and 13 hydroelectric plants. Nepal estimates infrastructure losses at around $2.7 billion, while total recovery and reconstruction costs could exceed $4.7 billion.
Nepal requested FRLD’s help in a letter sent in August, less than a week after the floods. In his first address to the UN in September, Prime Minister Balendra Shah described the disaster as a warning to the world, linking it to climate change, despite Nepal’s negligible share of global emissions.
Nepal also demanded international recognition of the damage caused by climate change.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal clarified later in September that the government had not formally sought compensation from India, China or the United States.
Global loss and damage fund test
The FRLD emerged after years of demands from developing countries, which say they face disproportionate climate risks despite contributing relatively little to global greenhouse gas emissions.
The fund is intended to help countries address climate-related losses that cannot be avoided through mitigation or adaptation alone.
Read also | Nepal floods: 10 missing, 6 bridges washed away as Budhi Gandaki river overflows
With reconstruction needs estimated at more than $4.7 billion, the proposed $20 million contribution alone is unlikely to materially change the overall recovery bill.
The decision comes ahead of COP31, the UN climate conference scheduled to take place in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9 to 20.
