Rich nations must fill Loss and Damage Fund: Nepal communities ‘cannot survive on crumbs’

The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) board is set to decide today on whether to set aside funds in response to Nepal’s deadly glacial floods. Initial reports indicate that the proposal is likely to pass in the Board’s first-ever extraordinary meeting. 

Granting Nepal’s rapid response request – the first time the Fund will have moved to respond to a disaster – would be a positive first step. However, the $20 million likely to be allocated is a mere drop in the bucket of Nepal’s actual needs. With recovery costs estimated at $4 to $5 billion, equivalent to 10% of the country’s GDP, it is woefully inadequate and exposes the failure of wealthy, high-emitting nations to contribute meaningfully to the Fund.

With the COP31 climate summit approaching, 350.org said that rich nations must deliver billions of dollars in new, public, and grants-based contributions to the Fund. Governments can raise these funds by making polluters pay, including through permanent taxes on fossil fuel profits. 

Savio Carvalho, 350.org head of campaigns and networks, said: 

“Piecemeal contributions to the Loss and Damage Fund results in piecemeal action, and climate vulnerable nations and communities cannot survive on crumbs. While a Board decision to grant Nepal’s request would be welcome, we need to get real. The Fund right now can't adequately support victims and survivors of one of this year’s worst climate disasters, let alone respond to the growing wave of extreme weather still to come. Rich nations can’t show up at COP31 with empty hands: they need to deliver on climate finance.”

Dikshya Subedi, founder of Youth Action For Sustainable and Eco Nepal (YASEN), a climate activist whose husband’s home was washed away in the floods, said:

“The headlines have moved on, but thousands are still missing in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot regions. Entire villages are still buried under mud, and people lack the support to rebuild their homes. Nepal has contributed less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet we are paying the highest price for climate inaction. Glaciers are melting fast, putting our families and communities at risk. We can’t wait for another disaster: we need enough funds to recover and adapt, now.”

Media Contact:

Ilang-Ilang Quijano, 350.org Media Campaigner, [email protected], +639175810934