Mr President, Mr Secretary General, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I come before you from Nepal, a distant country in the Himalayas, carrying a close warning for humanity. I wish I could stand here today simply to talk about development, democracy, peace, and the hopes of a young nation. Instead, I must speak about death and destruction of epic proportions.
About families waiting for loved ones who will never come home. About communities searching through the mud, rocks, water for the people whose bodies may never be recovered. About bridges, about roads, schools, homes, livelihoods swept away in minutes. About a country whose steady progress to achieve sustainable development goals has been interrupted.
Four weeks ago, the world saw shocking images of catastrophic floods that swept away Nepal's mountain communities with a ferocity many have called Mountain Tsunami or Himalayan Tsunami. The Bhote Kosi-Trisuli disaster was not just a local tragedy. It was a warning to the world. And I ask you today—have we really heard that warning?
Nearly three years ago, standing in the shadow of our Mount Everest, the Secretary-General of the United Nations warned humanity about the madness and impending climate disaster. That cry from the rooftop of the world was not heard loudly enough.
We in Nepal heard it, our communities heard it, scientists around the world heard it. They repeated it with evidence. But we, the political leaders, have been negligent to translate those warnings into action at the speed and scale that the vulnerable people require. Last month, we saw the tragic consequences.
A warming climate that is destabilising the fragile Himalayan ecology, melting permafrost that are fracturing mountains, slopes beneath the glaciers, and accelerating the risk of ice-rock avalanches, floods, landslides, and other cascading hazards. The resulting devastation unleashed havoc on both sides of the Nepal-China border. The flood continued downstream to India.
This tells us something fundamental. Climate change does not recognise borders. Glaciers and floods do not travel with stamps on passports.
Excellencies, I am not here to complain, but to share some suggestions.
First, I wish to express Nepal's deep gratitude to all those who came to our aid in the aftermath of the deluge. Our immediate neighbors, India and China, offered prompt and generous assistance. Other friendly countries, the United Nations system, humanitarian agencies, philanthropies, and people around the world stood with Nepal. To all of them, I say thank you on behalf of the grateful people of Nepal.
Nepal now faces a massive task of recovery and reconstruction. After at least 1,400 deaths and over 6,000 people still missing, a rapid assessment pegged physical recovery needs at about 10% of the GDP. As in rebuilding after a post-disaster like the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, we count on your solidarity and support.
But we must also understand why this disaster matters beyond Nepal.
Nepal contributes less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. We did not create this crisis, yet we are paying a colossal price for it. Our glaciers are retreating, our mountain slopes are becoming unstable, our rivers are becoming less predictable, and every major disaster threatens to erase years of development.
For Nepal, the climate catastrophe is not just a humanitarian event, but a development emergency. It destroys roads, bridges, schools, homes, farms, and livelihoods. It destroys clean energy infrastructure that we need to fuel our future. And it forces a poor country to borrow money to repair damage it did not cause.
But we are not here to blame any country or continent. We are not here to turn climate change into another geopolitical battlefield. We are here to ask everyone to recommit, to share responsibility and solidarity.
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