After another natural disaster, can Nepal sue wealthy countries for climate change destruction?

By Som Patidar By Lachlan Bennett In short: (ABC-Australia) Nepal is facing another wave of natural disasters just one month after flash floods killed more than 1,400 people. A landmark advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice says states are liable for the impacts of climate change. What’s next? Australia’s High Court is set to consider the ICJ advisory in a case about the expansion of a coalmine in the Hunter Valley. https://www. abc. net. au/news/2026-10-01/fight-for-climate-justice-after-another-wave-of-floods-in-nepal/107213838 Share article With a captive audience, Prime Minister Balendra Shah rose to the dais of the United Nations General Assembly last week, “carrying a close warning for humanity”. “A warming climate is destabilising the fragile Himalayan ecology,” he said.

“Melting permafrost is fracturing mountain slopes beneath the glaciers and accelerating the risks of ice-rock avalanches, floods, landslides and other cascading hazards. ” Nepal had just suffered one of its worst natural disasters in history , with flash floods killing more than 1,400 people and leaving thousands missing. “And when the next warning comes from the rooftop of the world,” Mr Shah said. “Let us be ready to hear it, and ready to act. ” Little did he know, the next warning would come only a few days later. Another wave of floods and landslides Torrential monsoon rains in the past four days triggered another wave of flash floods and landslides, with 27 confirmed deaths in Nepal and at least 62 in neighbouring India, according to state officials. Nepali authorities warned two-thirds of the country that they were at risk of flash floods, with major river systems pushed to the brink by heavy rain. The neighbouring north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh recorded eight times its…