United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted Nepal and the rapidly changing Himalayan environment during his address to the opening of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly on 22 September 2026.

Speaking about the climate crisis, Mr. Guterres described it as one of the major challenges facing the world today. It is not a local problem for Nepal alone. He called it a profound imbalance between generations, where the actions of one generation can affect the future of the next. He also pointed to the inequality of climate change, saying that those who are least responsible for the problem are often the first and worst affected. The flash flood in Nepal in other words, the Himalayan Tsunami is an example.

Mr. Guterres specifically referred to Nepal while discussing the growing effects of climate change.

He recalled his visit to the mountains of Nepal three years earlier, when he warned about accelerating glacier melt and said that the “rooftops of the world are caving in.”

According to Guterres, some people at the time dismissed those warnings as an exaggeration of the dangers. However, he said recent tragic events have shown that climate impacts are arriving sooner, hitting harder and spreading further than many had expected.

He also warned that the world now faces a near-certain breach of the 1.5°C limit and stressed that the dangers of climate change are real.

At the same time, the Secretary-General Guterres said,  there is still reason for a hope, pointing to the rapid growth of clean energy over the past decade. He said,  renewable energy has become the cheapest source of new electricity in most of the world and described it as an important path towards energy security, independence and sustainable growth.

Mr. Guterres called on governments to adopt national plans to transition away from fossil fuels in line with the 1.5°C target, with clear timelines and protection for affected workers and communities.

He also placed strong emphasis on climate responsibility and finance. Mr. Guterres said, those who have polluted and profited the most should do more to address the damage caused, stating that “polluters must pay.”

Beyond reducing emissions, he called for action to end deforestation, invest in electricity grids and storage, and reduce methane emissions. However, he said these measures alone would not be enough and stressed the need for climate justice, particularly through adaptation and climate finance.

Mr. Guterres called on developed countries to meet their climate commitments, triple adaptation finance and ensure that the Loss and Damage Fund can operate at a much larger scale. He said the amount currently available through the fund remains far too small compared with the scale of the climate challenge.

By referring once again to Nepal’s Himalayan mountains and accelerating glacier melt, the Secretary-General used Nepal as part of his wider warning that the effects of climate change are no longer a distant threat but are already becoming increasingly visible around the world.