Can Nepal's Flood Victims Sue Big Carbon Emitters? Climate Litigation, Liability and Loss and Damage
A recent opinion article argued that the victims of Nepal's deadly floods of August 2026 could be seen as victims of "climate wrongs", and could explore suing major carbon emitters in court.
The floods, which hit Nepal in late August 2026 (including a huge flash flood down the Bhote Koshi valley on 26 August 2026), killed more than a thousand people and are widely attributed to climate change.
The article compares Nepal's situation with Pakistan's 2022 floods, another extreme climate disaster in South Asia.
It suggests studying the climate lawsuits filed in Europe and the United States over the last two decades to see whether such a case could work for Nepal.
It also points to the main legal hurdle: climate harm hurts society as a whole, but courts usually need proof that a defendant harmed a particular person in a "direct and proximate" (close and clear) way.
Climate Change Litigation
Climate change litigation means going to court to make governments or companies act on climate change, or to make them pay for climate harm. People and groups file such cases to force deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, to protect rights hurt by climate change, or to win compensation for damage like floods and melting glaciers. It has grown fast in the last two decades and is now a major tool of climate action alongside treaties and laws.
The proposal to treat Nepal's flood victims as victims of "climate wrongs" rests directly on this body of case law. The RWE ruling shows that a court can accept, in principle, that a big emitter may be liable for its share of climate harm abroad. But the same case also shows the hurdle the article highlights: proving that the harm to a specific person was a direct and proximate result of the defendant's emissions.
Loss and Damage Fund
"Loss and damage" means the harm caused by climate change that cannot be avoided by cutting emissions (mitigation) or by adjusting to the changes (adaptation), such as homes washed away by floods or land lost to the sea. The Loss and Damage Fund is a global fund created under the UN climate talks to give money to developing countries hit by such harm. It is meant to help vulnerable countries recover, not to establish legal blame.
The fund offers Nepal help without having to prove anyone's legal fault, but its sums are small compared with the damage. This gap is one reason some experts argue that victims should also explore court cases against major emitters.
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the main court of the United Nations, based at The Hague in the Netherlands. It settles legal disputes between countries and gives legal advice, called advisory opinions, to UN bodies. It has 15 judges elected for nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and Security Council.
The ICJ's 2025 opinion strengthens the idea that climate harm can be a legal wrong, not just a political issue. Arguments for Nepal's flood victims can draw on it, though the opinion deals with states, while a lawsuit against companies would be decided under national law.
- Nepal floods: late August 2026; Bhote Koshi flash flood on 26 August 2026; death toll above one thousand
- Comparable disaster cited: Pakistan floods, 2022
- Loss and Damage Fund: $20 million provisionally set aside for Nepal on 22 October 2026 (first extraordinary Board meeting)
- Lliuya v. RWE: 28 May 2025; corporate liability for climate harm accepted in principle
- RWE share of historical global emissions (as claimed): about 0.47%
- ICJ climate advisory opinion: 23 July 2025, unanimous
- KlimaSeniorinnen v. Switzerland: 9 April 2024, Article 8 ECHR
- Urgenda: Dutch Supreme Court, 20 December 2019
- India: M.K. Ranjitsinh (21 March 2024) recognised a right against the adverse effects of climate change