New York, September 24: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has called for the establishment of a Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism led by Nepal, India and China to address growing climate-related risks across the Himalayan region. Addressing the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Shah proposed greater sharing of satellite data and expertise, monitoring of dangerous glacial lakes, stronger joint early-warning systems and coordinated cross-border assistance during disasters.
Shah presented the recent Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster as a warning of the growing climate threat facing the Himalayas, saying a warming climate is destabilising the region’s fragile ecology and increasing the risks of ice-rock avalanches, floods and landslides. He said Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions but continues to suffer severe consequences, with major disasters threatening years of development gains. He described climate catastrophe for Nepal as not only a humanitarian issue but also a “development emergency.”
The Prime Minister also called for climate justice to be translated into practical international action. He argued that countries historically responsible for greater emissions and those with stronger capacities should shoulder greater responsibility. Shah called for adequate grant-based assistance for climate-hit countries and said existing mechanisms, including the Loss and Damage Fund and Global Environment Facility, remain inadequate. He also urged the international community to make climate financing simpler and more accessible to vulnerable countries.
Shah reaffirmed Nepal’s commitment to multilateralism and called for a fairer international system in which smaller and poorer countries have a meaningful voice. He said climate justice must encompass both distributive justice over who bears the costs and procedural justice over who gets a voice in decision-making. Concluding his address, Shah urged governments to move away from ad-hoc disaster responses towards a “culture of preparedness,” with greater investment in resilience, stronger infrastructure, early-warning systems, innovation and reduced dependence on fossil fuels.
