Landslide disasters in Nepal and Tibet have killed more than 1,200 people. The foreign minister called on the international community to face up to the impact of climate change.

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) Eight days have passed since the landslide disasters occurred in Nepal and Tibet. The cumulative death toll has exceeded 1,200 people, and nearly 5,000 people are still missing. Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal was interviewed by the country's media Kantipur TV last week, saying that the disaster was not just an ordinary flood, but was as big as a tsunami. He believes that the rapid melting of glaciers is a consequence of global warming and climate change, but the initiator of climate change is not Nepal.

According to quotes from The Kathmandu Times, Bloomberg and other media, Khanal said: "We are paying a heavy price for this global crisis that was not created by us." He pointed out that the world's largest carbon emitter is China, the United States is the second, and the third is India. "These countries have historical responsibilities and should compensate fragile countries like Nepal."

He said that this is not a charity, but a matter of legal and moral responsibility.

However, according to a report by India's Asia News International (ANI) on the 4th, Khanal clarified that the Nepalese government does not intend to seek climate-related compensation from China, the United States, India or any country. Instead, it calls on all countries to pay attention to the impact of climate change on the Himalayas and not to regard this disaster as a single event or only provide one-time disaster assistance.

Khanal told ANI: "What we are calling for is that the international community should view this disaster from the perspective of climate change and face up to its impact on Nepal." He said that China, India and Nepal share a common environmental ecosystem and culture and should work together in the face of "similar pain, similar burdens, and similar challenges."

At the press conference on the 3rd, Khanal also thanked many countries for their assistance and support, including India, China, and the United States.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun was asked on the 3rd about Nepal's voice demanding climate compensation. He responded, "China and Nepal are a community with a shared future connected by mountains and rivers, and China is also the victim of this cross-border disaster. China is willing to strengthen cooperation with the international community, including Nepal, to jointly prevent and reduce the adverse effects of climate change."

Link between floods in Nepal and climate change

Nepali climate advocate Tashi Lhazom believes that in the context of climate change, Nepal is the most vulnerable country, but it is also one of the countries that attaches the most importance to climate and environmental issues.

Razim asked: "What did Nepal do wrong to deserve such consequences?... A one-degree increase in global temperature may be insignificant to most people, but it is very different in mountainous areas. A one-degree change may mean the loss of thousands of lives and livelihoods."

Saswata Sanyal, an expert at the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, told AFP that the Himalayas are warming at about twice the rate of other parts of the world. "What we are seeing is a chain disaster, just like the floods on August 26, where one event triggered many subsequent events."

The floods were caused by collapse of rock formations and glaciers, flooding the rivers with debris and muddy water. Flash floods are not uncommon in the Himalayas, but experts generally believe that the cause of this glacier collapse has not yet been determined, and it is difficult to conclude that it was caused by global warming or climate change.

What is certain is that as global temperatures rise, mountain glaciers do become more unstable. Niels Hovius, a geomorphology expert at the Helmholtz Center for Geosciences in Germany, told DW: "It is always difficult to attribute individual events to climate change... but I think we are likely to see more events like this in the future."

According to preliminary estimates by the United Nations, the damage to buildings alone from this flood reached US$158 million. The Nepali government estimates that post-disaster reconstruction will require approximately US$4 to 5 billion.

Nepalese officials said they have applied to the United Nations for emergency assistance from the "loss and damage" fund, but because rich countries have not actively invested, the fund still has a huge gap and is difficult to respond to large-scale disasters. International climate advocacy organizations have called on industrial powers to be more active in assisting.

The Global Campaign for Climate Justice (DCJ) issued a statement on September 1, stating that what is needed now is not just sympathy, condolences and condolences, but more importantly, governments should face up to the situation faced by people in the Himalayas and those communities at the forefront of climate impacts. “Rich countries cannot portray Nepal’s disaster as an unfortunate consequence of climate change while continuing to blatantly expand the industries that drive climate change.”