The Climate Crime Behind Nepal's Deadly Floods

When Nature Becomes a Weapon

Following a familiar pattern, coverage of the glacier collapse on the Nepal-Tibet border three weeks ago has subsided with the initial shock. But while the world's attention has shifted, Nepal remains in the midst of an appalling tragedy. As well as at least 1,300 people who are known to have been killed, more than 5,000 are missing, some of them trapped in tunnels linked to the 13 hydropower plants that were damaged by the floods. On Wednesday four bodies were recovered from one of these tunnels, with searches ongoing. Families of the missing people are desperate for news.

What makes this tragedy even more grotesque is that it wasn't a random act of nature—it was a climate crime enabled by decades of fossil fuel pollution. The science is now clear: our carbon emissions didn't just warm the planet; they destabilized entire mountain ecosystems. I've spent years investigating how environmental destruction serves corporate interests, and this case confirms what we've suspected all along—this wasn't an accident, it was a calculated betrayal of human lives.

"The likelihood of any payment being made quickly is, however, low. Nearly 120 countries have already submitted claims adding up to a total of nearly $3bn (£2.2bn), which is far more than the fund, currently estimated at $400m (£300m), can afford."

Who Pays for Climate Crimes?

Last week the country's foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, said that it would ask the UN's loss and damage fund for $20m (£15m) towards a total rebuilding cost of around $5bn (£3.75bn) – including the replacement of up to 20,000 homes. The first academic study linking the disaster to the climate crisis will now be added to that application. Scientists at Imperial College London, along with international collaborators on the World Weather Attribution project, found that a number of drivers of the glacier fall had been made worse by atmospheric heating. While not the sole cause, fossil fuel pollution was judged to have destabilised the geology of the mountain environment.

Even before last month, Nepal faced huge economic challenges, due in part to instability in the Middle East. Its government has only been in power for six months, following protests that led to the collapse of the previous one. But inexperienced though they are, Nepal's leaders are right to insist that other countries should pay towards its recovery. Nepal is estimated to be responsible for less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Like the small island nations in the Caribbean and Pacific that are most threatened by sea level rises and tropical storms, Nepal's people are bearing the brunt of destructive forces that have been unleashed upon them as a result of decisions about resource use, energy and economic development taken elsewhere in the world. These aren't just statistics—these are mothers, fathers, children who are now trapped in tunnels or missing without a trace.

The Hidden Cost of Profit

But the question that haunts me is why this isn't being treated as an international crime. Every day we delay justice for Nepal, we make it harder to prevent future tragedies. The loss and damage fund is supposed to be about accountability—about holding the world's richest countries responsible for their emissions that have devastated the Global South.

And yet we're still seeing a system where the most vulnerable are left to pay for the sins of the powerful. The United States, under Donald Trump, withdrew from the Paris climate agreement and put pressure on the World Bank to drop its climate finance goals. Other donors have also failed to meet targets.

What's particularly galling is that we're already seeing this pattern play out in other disasters. In Bangladesh, in the Pacific islands, in Africa—we're watching a systematic exploitation of poor countries' resources and vulnerability for the benefit of wealthy nations and corporations. This is not just about climate change; it's about the global system that allows these crimes to go unpunished.

A Call for Global Justice

The Nepal-Tibet disaster, coming as it did at the end of a summer of record-breaking temperatures, including in the Himalayas, ought to focus minds. Scientists have warned for years of the devastating consequences of melting glaciers, particularly for the millions of people who rely on them for water.

But beyond that, it should be a wake-up call to the governments and institutions that must find a way to make a global climate finance system work—especially in the aftermath of disasters like Nepal's. Turkey, which hosts the next climate summit in November, has positioned itself as a champion for developing countries.

Boosting the loss and damage fund must be prioritized at those talks if climate justice is to remain a credible goal. But that means more than just words—it means concrete reparations, real accountability, and systems that prioritize people over profits.

I've seen too many stories where the victims of corporate greed are left to pick up the pieces while the perpetrators get away scot-free. This time, it's not enough to say we're sorry—we must act. The people of Nepal have already paid the price for a system built on environmental injustice. It's time we changed that system forever.

• Climate disasters are not random—they are deliberate acts enabled by pollution and profit
• The loss and damage fund is not charity—it's reparations
• We must hold powerful nations accountable for their role in climate crimes
• Nepal's tragedy demands a global reckoning with the climate justice movement