Call to declare floods a climate-related disaster
Summary
The Bhotekoshi and Trishuli floods are being framed as a climate injustice, with lawmakers and experts urging Nepal to seek climate justice, international support and disaster relief. Leaders want the floods declared a nationally significant climate emergency and raised at the UN General Assembly.
Key Points
- Rabi Lamichhane called for floods, landslides and similar disasters to be declared a nationally significant climate emergency.
- He urged Parliament to form a special committee, keep a national record of losses and push the issue at international forums, including the UN General Assembly.
- Sher Bahadur Deuba and other leaders said Nepal has contributed little to global warming but is suffering heavily from climate impacts.
- Climate officials and scientists said warming in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region is accelerating glacier melt and driving the recent floods.
