Guterres warns that Nepal glacier melt foretells accelerating climate threats

At the start of the 81st UN General Assembly, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded members of his 2023 appeal concerning rapidly receding glaciers in Nepal, noting that the predicted hazards are now unfolding faster and with greater intensity. He referenced the devastating August ice-rock collapse near the China-Nepal border that sparked a flood killing more than 1,400 people and leaving thousands missing, a disaster scientists say was heightened by human-driven warming.

Guterres framed climate change as one of four major "power tests" confronting humanity and warned that the 1.5°C limit is close to being breached, compounded by a looming strong El Niño. He urged developed countries to meet and exceed their climate finance commitments, calling for a three-fold increase in adaptation aid and a functional, well-funded Loss and Damage Fund. The UN chief also cautioned that the race for critical minerals must avoid reproducing past inequities, insisting that resource-rich nations and local communities receive a fair share of the value created.