Nepal seeks flood compensation from US, India and China
Photo: Reuters
Nepal is seeking “climate compensation” from the United States, India and China after a devastating flash flood in the Bhote Koshi River a week ago swept away villages in at least three districts. The Himalayan country has identified the three nations as among the world’s major greenhouse gas emitters.
Emergency rescue teams have so far recovered more than 1,100 bodies in the disaster. However, nearly 4,500 people remain missing after a massive surge of freezing water, rocks and debris swept down from the high mountainous area along the Tibet Nepal border last week following a glacial collapse.
Seeking international financial assistance, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal has said that post disaster assistance should not be viewed as “charity” but as a matter of “moral responsibility.”
The minister made the remarks in Nepali during an interview with Kantipur TV. Parts of the interview were published by the newspaper The Kathmandu Post and news agency PTI.
Nepal Seeks Accountability
Khanal said Nepal’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is “virtually negligible” but the country is bearing the disproportionate impacts of global warming. These include rapidly melting glaciers and extreme disasters in mountainous regions.
According to excerpts of his interview published by PTI, he said, “We are paying the ultimate price for a global crisis we did not create. Rapidly melting glaciers and these devastating mountain tsunamis are a direct consequence of global climate change.”
Khanal said Nepal is shifting its diplomatic position from “assistance” toward “justice and compensation.” “This is not a matter of charity; it is a matter of legal and moral responsibility.”
He said, “Countries like China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter among major industrialized countries, the United States, which ranks second, and India, which ranks third, have a historic responsibility to compensate vulnerable countries like Nepal.”
Khanal said Nepal plans to raise the issue of climate change “with full determination and clarity” at various international forums. He said Nepal will also seek compensation from major emitting countries for the losses vulnerable countries are facing because of climate change.
He said, “This is a matter of the survival of civilization. If our Himalayan glaciers disappear, the water security of more than 2 billion people in South Asia who depend on rivers like the Ganges and Trishuli will be permanently threatened. We are making this demand not only for Nepal but also for the survival of South Asian civilization.”
The minister said Nepal’s Ministry of Finance has formally sent a demand to international partners seeking climate compensation.
He further said, “If our Himalayan glaciers disappear, the water security of more than 2 billion people in South Asia who depend on rivers like the Ganges and Trishuli will be permanently threatened. We are making this demand not only for Nepal but also for the survival of South Asian civilization.”
Source: NDTV (Adapted)
