NEWS
Joint Letter - Global Climate Emergency in Nepal
A joint CSO letter to the President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly was pubisihed. JANIC is a member of Action for Sustainable Development, CIVICUS, Forus, GCAP, and TAP Network.
Read the letter in a PDF format here.
14 September 2026
H.E. Dr. Khalilur Rahman President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Excellency,
We write on behalf of the undersigned organisations, addressing this letter jointly to you, as the newly appointed President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, to call your attention to the recent climate disaster in Nepal and to urge the international community to declare a Global Climate Emergency.
On 26 August 2026, a glacial-rock collapse in the Himalayan region triggered catastrophic flash floods along Nepal’s Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, killing over 1,350 people in Nepal alone, with nearly 5,000 more reported missing, and causing additional deaths and displacement across the border. These converging climate disasters are a stark reminder that the climate emergency is no longer a distant threat; it is causing immense loss of lives, displacement, destruction of livelihoods and ecosystems, with risks to peace, sustainable development and human rights, particularly for vulnerable communities. Climate-vulnerable countries and communities that have contributed least to historical greenhouse gas emissions are paying a high price for a crisis they did not cause. This declaration would come at a critical time, especially as the global community begins to consider the future of the sustainable development framework beyond 2030 and the need for a renewed and strengthened commitment to climate justice, solidarity and inclusive multilateral action.
We acknowledge the recent United Nations Environment Programme report, Limiting Overshoot – Navigating Exceedance of 1.5C and Pathways Towards Return, which establishes that mitigation and adaptation are mutually reinforcing and must proceed with an equal level of urgency. In response to the climate disasters and the UNEP report, we therefore call for immediate and globally coordinated action to accelerate emissions reductions, invest decisively in adaptive capacity, and prioritise support for the most vulnerable. We also call on the United Nations system to respond with urgency, including by deploying appropriate assessment and fact-finding mechanisms to better understand the impacts on affected communities, strengthen coordination with national and local actors, and ensure that international support responds to the realities on the ground. The harsh reality of these impacts is being lived today by affected communities across Nepal who urgently need adequate, predictable and accessible financing and support to address loss and damage, recover and build resilience.
We urge the UN General Assembly to formally declare a Global Climate Emergency with the purpose of raising global awareness of escalating climate impacts and mobilising unified, immediate action to scale up mitigation and adaptation efforts against future climate risks, to rapidly expand access to loss and damage funds and to stand in solidarity with vulnerable communities who are most affected, including through compensation. We further emphasise that effective climate responses must be grounded in the experiences and leadership of affected communities and supported by local civil society organisations, which play a critical role in preparedness, emergency response, recovery and resilience-building.
On behalf of the undersigned organisations,
Oli Henman, Global Coordinator, Action for Sustainable Development
Jesselina Rana, UN Advisor, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Sarah Strack, Director, Forus
Ingo Ritz, Director, Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP)
Elena Marmo, Deputy Director, Transparency, Accountability and Participation (TAP) Network