Strengthening resilience to glacier risks in Nepal and beyond

The thoughts of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) are with all those – the families, communities, as well as our government partners - who continue to experience immense loss and suffering because of the glacial flood disaster in Nepal. We recognise the profound human toll of this disaster and stand in support of all those involved in the emergency response and recovery efforts.

The catastrophe highlights the need for increased financing to scale up scientific and technical solutions to protect and support the people of Nepal and other countries facing similar climate-induced risks.

Our ‘Protecting livelihoods and assets at risk from Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) and climate change-induced flooding in glacial river basins of Nepal’ project was designed to address such risks from four glacial lakes in the Gandaki, Arun, and Dudhkoshi basins. It is important to note that this project is focused on different river systems to where the Bhotekoshi disaster occurred.

Although the geography of our project does not overlap with the disaster area, we recognise the concerns raised about the time taken to bring the Nepal proposal to final approval. This reflects the considerable efforts to strengthen the proposal and its implementation arrangements - including extensive stakeholder engagement to ensure strong ownership – as well as administrative, institutional, and COVID-related delays involving multiple partners.

GCF has a thorough appreciation of the growing climate-induced risks of vulnerable communities living in glacial river basins and has developed an extensive portfolio focused on this issue.

Following efficiency reforms in 2024, our Nepal Glacial Lake Outburst Floods project was prioritised and approved in July 2025, entering implementation in March 2026. USD 9 million has been disbursed to the implementing partner, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to support activities that strengthen early warning systems, reduce disaster risks, and enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities.

We are also investing USD 250 million, alongside the Asian Development Bank, as part of the USD 3.5 billion landmark Glaciers to Farms project, which supports nine countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

In Pakistan, GCF is investing USD 37 million in the Scaling up of the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Risk Reduction project in the north of the country, with hazard monitoring and early warning systems at the core of the investment. UNDP is also the implementing partner for this project.

This growing portfolio to address glacial risk has been enabled by an ongoing organisational reform agenda, including regionalisation, with a commitment to a more streamlined access to climate finance. Funding proposals now have a 9-month approval target, while maintaining appropriate due diligence and risk review.

GCF remains committed to working closely with our national government partners and Accredited Entities to prioritise investments that reduce this climate-induced risk across several countries.