Nepal PM urges climate justice after ‘Himalayan tsunami’ devastates country

Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah brought a stark warning from the Himalayas to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, saying catastrophic floods that killed at least 1,400 people in his country laid bare the human cost of climate change, and the failure of the international system to protect those least responsible for it.Addressing the general debate of the Assembly’s 81st session, Mr. Shah said the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster four weeks earlier in northern Nepal had swept through mountain communities with a ferocity described as a “Himalayan Tsunami”.More than 6,000 people remain missing and damage is estimated at around 10 per cent of Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP).“The Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster was not just a local tragedy, it was a warning to the world,” he said. “And I ask you today: have we really heard that warning?”Climate justiceMr. Shah said a warming climate was destabilizing the Himalayan ecosystem, with melting permafrost contributing to unstable mountain slopes and increasing the risks of avalanches, floods and landslides.The devastation, he added, extended across Nepal’s border with China and downstream towards India.“Climate change does not recognize bo...