Nepal must make climate justice top national priority, says Environment Minister

Nepal’s Forestry and Environment Minister Gita Chaudhary. File | Photo Credit: facebook.com/gita.chaudhary.5 Nepal’s Forestry and Environment Minister Gita Chaudhary has called for climate change and environmental issues to be made a top national priority, local media reported on Tuesday (September 1, 2026).Follow the updates of the Nepal flash floods on September 1, 2026.Her comments came days after devastating flash floods killed around 1,000 people in Nepal and left nearly 4,000 missing. The floods, triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal.She also said the country must assert its rights and claims on climate justice at international forums.Speaking at a consultation with experts at the ministry before leaving to attend a ministerial conference of the least developed countries, Ms. Chaudhary said that Nepal must work to establish mountain issues on the global agenda.The discussions also covered domestic and international initiatives to seek compensation for the severe damage caused by the recent floods, according to Nepal News.“Unless we can present this agenda as our right and our claim, we cannot give it the priority it deserves,” she was quoted as saying by the Onlinekhabar news portal.Nepal is a mountainous country and home to Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, she noted, stressing the need for the country to lead the mountain agenda and establish it globally.Ms. Chaudhary said it would be difficult to give priority at the national level to the damage and problems caused by the climate crisis unless climate justice was established as a right before the international community.She said climate change should not be confined to one or two government programmes or international conferences.Ms. Chaudhary also called for cooperation among civil society, experts, the media and other stakeholders, saying government efforts alone would not be sufficient to address climate and environmental challenges. Published - September 01, 2026 04:05 pm IST