Nepal has become the first country to benefit from a new United Nations fund for climate change damage following the devastating floods that hit the country in August of this year, reports The Telegraph.
The Fund for Coping With Loss and Harms, established to help countries facing climate disasters, has decided to allocate $20m to Nepal to support the recovery from the 26 August floods.
According to the latest reported data, at least 1,500 people have lost their lives, while more than 5,000 others continue to be missing.
The approved amount is only 0.7 percent of the $2.7 billion damage Nepal has estimated in infrastructure and economics.
In a statement, the United Nations Development Programme ( U n The NDP described the decision as a historic moment for climate justice and solidarity with Nepal.
This approval represents the first time the fund intervenes to support a country facing an unexpected climate disaster, since the beginning of its operation at COP28), the statement said.
According to the UNDP, the decision will help secure the resources needed for the recovery, reconstruction and support of affected communities.
On August 31st, Nepal’s government had demanded $20m from the UN fund, following an avalanche of rocks and ice that destroyed houses, roads, schools and energy projects near the China Tibet border.
Nepal’s Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle stressed that his country contributes very little to global greenhouse gas emissions, but faces increasingly serious consequences of climate change.
As a mountainous country among the least developed and vulnerable to climate, Nepal contributes insignificantly to global greenhouse gas emissions, but continues to face disproportional and growing climate impacts, he said.
However, the divided sum has been criticised by climate activist and former Nepale President Rajendra Baguain, who described it as a crumb stuck between teeth, not aid, but insults against victims.
Source Layer: RTKLive
