With a study confirming that climate change played a role in the Nepal disaster, 350.org said that rich nations, including those sitting on the board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), have the obligation to ensure the rapid disbursement of funds to help fund recovery and provide justice to victims and survivors in Nepal.

Least Developed Countries have called for an emergency meeting of the FRLD Board after the Nepal government formally requested for emergency financial support following the August 26 disaster. However, the request has yet to be granted, and a September 14 letter from the Board’s developed nation Parties indicates no concrete commitments to do so.

Savio Carvalho, 350.org Head of Networks and Campaigns said, “The Loss and Damage Fund was set up precisely for this moment. Yet rich nations are dithering, while entire communities remain buried in mud and thousands of families are still searching for their loved ones. Nepal and other least developed nations have spoken. The science is clear. The people of Nepal need climate compensation now, not empty words of sympathy. Rich countries must not fail this test of their responsibility to pay up. Climate delay has already taken lives – failure to compensate must not lead to more needless suffering.”

An analysis released by World Weather Attribution reveals that climate change contributed to permafrost thaw and glacial thinning, which likely influenced last month’s disaster in the Nepal-Tibet border. 

Scientists found that decades of warming, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, have resulted in glacier recession and permafrost thawing, making mountain walls of the Himalayas unstable. Record-high local temperatures in July and August 2026 – or the period directly before the collapse – was also a factor.

Scientists further warned that the scale of the disaster shows that limits of adaptation have been exceeded, and that drastic emission cuts are needed to prevent future catastrophic collapses.

Media Contact:

Ilang-Ilang Quijano, 350.org Media Campaigner, ilang.quijano@350.org, +639175810934