Written by: Karim Hammam
Widespread demands have escalated in Nepal, with popular and official participation, to convert emergency funding allocated to address climate change disasters into non-repayable grants, instead of imposing new debts on the country suffering from the devastating repercussions of floods and landslides that struck major river basins.
Rejection of Climate Disaster Loans
The World Bank's recent funding proposals, which include providing emergency funding of up to $170 million or equivalent to about 25 billion Nepalese rupees via conditional financing mechanisms, have faced sharp criticism and widespread objections from citizens and local entities. The objections focused on the nature of these funds, which are concessional loans rather than grants, increasing the sovereign debt burdens on a country that contributes very little to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Government and Popular Calls to Support Climate Justice
Official and popular appeals, including statements issued by Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah, emphasized the necessity for climate-vulnerable countries to receive international support in the form of real grants that help in reconstruction and rapid recovery without worsening the debt crisis. Objectors believe that burdening developing countries with the costs of crises they were not a main cause of is unfair and does not achieve the desired principles of climate justice in facing frequent loss and damage.
Demand for Transparency and Debt Relief
Nepalese demands include calling on international financial institutions, led by World Bank, to provide complete transparency regarding the proposed funding packages, and to refrain from turning climate-induced natural disasters into new sources of increasing sovereign debt. The calls also stress the importance of activating loss and damage funds to support sustainable recovery efforts in the most vulnerable countries around the world.
