Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari has urged the international community to take Nepal’s demand for climate justice seriously, saying recent unprecedented natural disasters have again exposed the country’s vulnerability to climate impacts. She made the appeal while addressing the 2026 Global Governance Forum (Xian), organised by the China Institute of International Studies in China, according to Kathmandu-datelined reports published on 24 October 2026.
Bhandari’s appeal for climate justice
Bhandari’s central message was that Nepal’s call for climate justice should receive serious attention from the international community. She linked the urgency of that demand to the recent disasters, saying they had once more highlighted the country’s exposure to climate impacts. Her remarks placed Nepal’s vulnerability at the centre of her appeal to the forum.
The former president’s comments were delivered at a gathering focused on global governance. By bringing Nepal’s climate concerns to the forum, she urged the international community to consider the country’s demand as part of wider discussions about shared global challenges. The reports describe climate justice as the issue she stressed, rather than identifying a particular policy proposal or measure she asked the forum to adopt.
Bhandari’s appeal also underscored the importance she placed on taking Nepal’s position seriously. The reports did not detail further remarks about specific steps for governments or institutions, but her message was direct: Nepal’s demand for climate justice should not be overlooked, particularly in light of the disasters that have again revealed its vulnerability.
Disasters renew attention on Nepal’s vulnerability
The recent unprecedented natural disasters formed the main context for Bhandari’s appeal. She said the events had exposed Nepal’s vulnerability to climate impacts once again. Her remarks therefore connected the country’s experience of disasters with its request for climate justice from the international community.
The reports do not identify the disasters, provide figures on their effects or describe when they occurred. They also do not set out a detailed account of the climate impacts Bhandari referred to. Her statement, as reported, was broader: recent events had made Nepal’s vulnerability visible again and reinforced the need for the country’s climate justice demand to be heard.
That emphasis gave the appeal a clear national focus. Bhandari did not present Nepal’s demand as an abstract question alone; she pointed to the country’s exposure as demonstrated by recent disasters. The reports, however, provide no additional detail on how she proposed that climate justice should be delivered, or on any response from participants at the forum.
Address to the Global Governance Forum
The 2026 Global Governance Forum (Xian) was organised by the China Institute of International Studies in China. Bhandari used the occasion to call attention to Nepal’s climate concerns before an international audience. The available reports do not describe the conference’s other sessions, participants or conclusions, and do not indicate whether the forum adopted any position on her appeal.
Her remarks were reported from Kathmandu on 24 October 2026. Across the reports, the principal point remained consistent: the international community should take Nepal’s call for climate justice seriously, with recent unprecedented natural disasters serving as a renewed illustration of the country’s vulnerability to climate impacts.
Bhandari’s appeal thus brought together two related concerns - Nepal’s exposure to climate impacts and the need for its demand for climate justice to receive international attention. While the reports do not provide further policy details, they present her message as a call for the world to recognise Nepal’s vulnerability and give serious consideration to its position.
