TIME names Finance Minister Wagle among 100 influential climate leaders of 2026

TIME magazine has featured Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle in its list of the 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders of 2026, recognising his efforts to bring Nepal's climate vulnerability and demand for international climate compensation to the global stage. In a profile published on Monday, the magazine highlighted Wagle's campaign for climate justice following the devastating glacial floods that struck Nepal in August, killing more than 1,500 people and displacing thousands.

“Despite emitting a small percentage of global greenhouse gases, developing countries are disproportionately impacted by climate change,” the magazine said, highlighting Wagle's efforts to keep the issue on the international agenda. Following the disaster, Nepal formally approached China, the United States and India—the world's three largest greenhouse gas emitters—with a request for climate compensation.