Climate Reparations
Nepal is not responsible for the climate crisis. Yet its mountains are caving in, its rivers are behaving aggressively, and its citizens’ daily lives are affected. We are facing climate injustice. Prime Minister Balendra Shah should deliver a message to the world that climate change is not only a danger of the future but also a harsh brunt of today. The presence of PM Shah at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York should be taken as an opportunity to deliver a clear message to the world that climate change is affecting the lives of people in our country. The contribution of Nepal to global greenhouse gas emissions is negligible compared to the industrial countries. However, Himalayan countries, including Nepal, are vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. Glaciers melt away, mountain ecosystems deteriorate, precipitation becomes erratic, and floods and landslides become more deadly. The paradox is cruel: the least culpable in causing the crisis are some of its most affected victims. Such issues should be presented by Prime Minister Shah openly and boldly.
Climate talks in international forums have been full of high aspirations, pronouncements and commitments that do not reach those who will have to face the brunt of the disasters. Nepal does not need yet another period of pity after the bodies are counted and the villages are inundated. What Nepal requires is climate justice. It will entail the acceptance of higher responsibility by richer countries that have been contributing more emissions in the past. Climate finance should not be a puzzle full of pledges, procedures and conditions. While vulnerable countries are figuring things out, another catastrophe may occur. Adaptation and resilience finance, as well as loss and damage finance, should be reliable, accessible and timely. Prime Minister Shah can also make the case for the Himalayas becoming an important priority in the context of climate change. Whatever is happening in the mountains of Nepal will not stay within the country’s borders only. The Himalayan range nurtures many rivers and sustains tens of millions of people in Asia. An unstable mountain ecosystem is a serious global concern.
That is precisely why PM’s speech will be important. In his first-ever appearance on the international stage, he should press for recognition of the importance of the Himalayan region for the climate of the world, greater access to climate finance, more support to the mountain peoples and the implementation of agreements on loss and damage. Most importantly, our country should not allow itself to be portrayed as a helpless victim crying out for help. It should speak as a nation asking a moral question to which the world must now have an answer: Can the nations who profited from their pollution continue making the poorest nations of the world pay the price? The story from Bhotekoshi cannot be swept under the rug once it becomes old news at the UN. For Prime Minister Shah, this is a chance to ensure that Nepal is heard on a bigger platform. For the Himalayan countries like Nepal, climate justice is about being responsible, respectable, and at times even about survival.
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