Nepal seeks faster climate disaster funding, recognition of vulnerabilities after deadly floods

Detailed summary

Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal says lengthy approval processes are delaying urgently needed disaster aid, as Nepal pushes for greater recognition of mountain vulnerabilities at COP31.

Nepal, still reeling from devastating floods in August, is urging the international community to recognise the vulnerabilities of communities living in mountainous regions. Speaking to Anadolu on the sidelines of the COP31 summit in Antalya, Türkiye, the country's foreign minister called for faster access to climate disaster funding to support recovery efforts and better prepare for future emergencies.

Nepal’s appeal follows a massive rock-and-ice collapse in the Langtang region that unleashed a surge of water, mud and debris through the Nepal-China border corridor on August 26.

At least 1,451 people were killed and 5,745 remained missing in Nepal, according to national disaster authority figures. Chinese authorities reported another 43 deaths and 519 missing.

Tens of thousands lost their homes, land and livelihoods. River levels downstream rose nine metres in half an hour, leaving little time to warn communities.

Delays in delivering climate disaster funding are “not justified” when devastated communities urgently need support, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told Anadolu.

Khanal welcomed the provisional allocation of funds to Nepal following devastating floods in August, but warned that additional approval requirements could delay disbursement by several months, leaving affected communities waiting for assistance.

“We need resources immediately after disasters to rebuild, to provide relief support,” he said.

The Loss and Damage Fund, an international climate finance mechanism, announced in late October that it had provisionally set aside $21.6 million for Nepal.

Its board also allowed the country to submit a funding request outside the standard application period to expedite its response.

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