After the Rasuwa Disaster, Rabi Lamichhane Says Nepal Must Turn Its Pain Into a Global Fight for Climate Justice

KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 9, 2026

Taking Nepal’s Disaster to the World

Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane, speaking in the House of Representatives in Kathmandu on Wednesday, September 9, called for Nepal to build international pressure and seek global cooperation following the devastating Rasuwa-Bhotekoshi flood, arguing that the country must move beyond immediate relief and reconstruction because vulnerable Himalayan communities are carrying a disproportionate burden of the global climate crisis.

From National Pain to National Strength

Lamichhane said Nepal cannot afford to treat the disaster only as another tragedy followed by rescue, relief and reconstruction. He called for the suffering caused by the flood to become the basis of a united national effort for climate justice.

His message was that this is not the time for political blame between the government and opposition. Nepal, he argued, needs to stand together and take a common message to the international community.

Six Proposals for Climate Justice

Lamichhane laid out a broader climate agenda centred on six areas: recognising those killed in the disaster as victims of climate injustice; pursuing a special parliamentary initiative on a Himalayan climate and disaster emergency; documenting mountain snow and glacier resources; seeking grant-based climate finance; strengthening Nepal’s domestic scientific and institutional preparation; and developing a more confident form of climate diplomacy.

He also proposed an all-party parliamentary committee to examine the causes and losses from the disaster and called for a systematic national record of deaths, missing people, displacement and other damage.

Nepal Contributes Little, But Suffers Heavily

A central part of Lamichhane’s argument was the imbalance between Nepal’s contribution to climate change and the damage it faces.

Nepal contributes only around 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to World Bank assessments, yet its mountainous geography leaves communities highly exposed to floods, landslides, glacier retreat and glacial lake hazards.

Lamichhane argued that Nepal should therefore seek reconstruction support through grants and international climate finance rather than being pushed deeper into debt after disasters.

A Himalayan Climate Emergency

Lamichhane proposed that Parliament adopt a special resolution concerning a “Himalayan Climate and Disaster Emergency.”

His proposal includes seeking international recognition of the Himalayas as a particularly vulnerable climate and disaster-risk region, easier access to climate finance for adaptation and Himalayan protection, stronger scientific cooperation, cross-border early-warning systems and access to international loss-and-damage financing.

47 Glacial Lakes Highlight the Risk

The risks Lamichhane highlighted are supported by earlier scientific research. A joint ICIMOD-UNDP inventory identified 47 potentially dangerous glacial lakes across the Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali river basins covering Nepal, Tibet and India.

Of those 47 lakes, 21 were located in Nepal, 25 in Tibet and one in India. The Koshi basin contained 42 of the 47 identified lakes, making cross-border monitoring, scientific data sharing and early-warning cooperation particularly important for communities downstream.

Parliament Must Join the Diplomatic Effort

Lamichhane said climate diplomacy should not remain the responsibility of the government alone.

While the government communicates with foreign governments, he wants Nepal’s Parliament to engage directly with legislatures and elected representatives around the world. Such parliamentary diplomacy, he argued, could help build political pressure and international understanding of the risks facing the Himalayas.

Not Loans, But Climate Finance

Lamichhane also called for Nepal to push for grant-based climate financing for reconstruction.

His argument is that a country contributing only a tiny share of global emissions should not have to repeatedly borrow money to rebuild communities and infrastructure damaged by a climate crisis driven overwhelmingly by emissions produced elsewhere.

He also pointed toward international mechanisms including the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, which was established to assist particularly vulnerable developing countries dealing with climate-related loss and damage.

Taking the Himalayan Story to Global Forums

Lamichhane urged Nepal to use the United Nations and every available bilateral and multilateral platform to explain what is happening across its mountains.

Instead of approaching the international community simply as a disaster-hit country asking for assistance, he called for Nepal to present scientific evidence, document its losses and firmly explain why protecting the Himalayas matters far beyond Nepal’s borders.

A Different Kind of Climate Diplomacy

Lamichhane called for what he described as a new and self-respecting climate diplomacy—one based on evidence, confidence and clear demands rather than simply asking the world for sympathy.

Under that approach, Nepal would seek to establish itself internationally not only as a country suffering from climate disasters, but as a country warning the world about what the changing Himalayas could mean for people, ecosystems and communities far beyond its borders.

Turning Loss Into a Global Message

The larger message from Lamichhane’s parliamentary address was that Nepal's response to the Rasuwa disaster should not end when the missing are found, homes are rebuilt and roads reopen.

He wants the tragedy to become a turning point: strengthening Nepal's disaster preparedness at home while building a louder international campaign for climate justice, climate finance, scientific cooperation and protection of the Himalayas.