By Sameer Sharma
After the recent August 26 Bhotekoshi flood, Nepal has been aggressively raising the issue of climate justice. However, experts warn that this provocative stance could backfire, potentially undermining the country's efforts to secure crucial international aid for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah is traveling to New York to address the 81th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where he is expected to highlight the Bhotekoshi disaster and demand climate justice. Over the past decade, Nepal has consistently highlighted the severe impacts of climate change on the Himalayas. To champion this cause, Nepal initiated the Sagarmatha Sambaad—though it has struggled to attract high-level international participation—and regularly hosts side events at UN Climate Change Conferences (COP).
While the Bhotekoshi tragedy gives Nepal a compelling platform, gaining global traction remains uphill. This year's UNGA will likely be dominated by pressing global issues, including artificial intelligence, the escalation of the Iran-US conflict, the Russia-Ukraine war, and broader systemic climate crises.
More critically, Nepal's aggressive shift in climate diplomacy poses a risk to its financial recovery. Bilateral and multilateral reconstruction efforts will require billions of rupees, yet senior ministers and lawmakers have taken to directly naming specific nations, demanding they pay for their historical emissions.
For instance, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal argued that the US, China, and India bear direct legal and moral liability as the world's top greenhouse gas emitters—a statement that triggered immediate diplomatic friction, with Chinese officials raising formal objections. This naming-and-shaming tactic marks a sharp departure from Nepal’s traditional, nuanced diplomacy, which historically relied on broader umbrella categories such as "developed countries," "major emitters," "Least Developed Countries (LDCs)," and "shared but differentiated responsibilities."
Compounded by Nepal’s previous submissions before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—which had already ruffled feathers among major powers—this confrontational rhetoric from political leaders and lawmakers risks alienating key international partners just as they prepare to pledge reconstruction aid.
