PM Balendra Shah proposes Himalayan climate mechanism at the UN

Prime Minister Balendra Shah used his speech at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, delivered in New York on 24 September 2026, to describe the floods that hit Nepal's mountain communities four weeks earlier. He called the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster a warning to the world rather than only a local tragedy, according to the text published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Shah said at least 1400 deaths had been confirmed and over 6,000 people were still missing, and that rapid assessments estimate the bill for physical recovery at about 10 percent of GDP. He thanked India, China, other friendly countries, the United Nations system and humanitarian agencies for their help, and noted that Nepal's share of global greenhouse-gas emissions is below 0.1 percent. As a first step, he proposed a Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism led by Nepal, India and China. Under it, the three countries would share satellite data and expertise, monitor dangerous glacial lakes, strengthen joint early-warning systems and coordinate help across borders when disaster strikes. According to Shah, nearly two billion people live in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. On finance, Shah said the answer to climate damage in a poor country cannot be another large loan or a patchwork of small grants. He described the Loss and Damage Fund, the Global Environment Facility and similar mechanisms as grossly inadequate and asked for adequate grant-based support. He set out six words for the Assembly: relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction, responsibility, reparation and resilience. The Prime Minister also said Nepal needs a fairer global economic order, pointing to shortages of fertiliser, bitumen and cooking fuel that Nepal has faced. He said his government, elected in March, has committed itself to decent jobs and social protection so that every Nepali has a fair chance at home, and that Nepal would help lead the discussion at a side-event titled "Sagarmatha to the Sea".