After this first week of negotiations, we are glad to address this stock taking
session.In 2005, we started negotiating the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.Now, 2 years before the end of the 1st commitment period, this lack of progress in the negotiations on the next period is worrying.
It is worrying for several reasons:The Kyoto Protocol is the only international legal instrument that we have to preventthe disastrous effects of climate change, and consequently to reduce the emissions of the Annex I countries.
Even if the implementation of this agreement during its first commitment period was
not the success we were expecting, there is a big and important room for improvement and to ensure a live-able present and a safer future for the next generations. It seems that slowing down the process and waiting for the end of the 1st commitment period is the option that Japan, Canada and Russia want to develop in the negotiations.
This option is not acceptable. And we will never support an option so weak from such developed countries.On the other hand, we ask the EU, Norway and Australia and the other parties or groups to the Annex I to commit quickly and strongly to a new commitment period with targets in line with the latest science available.
It is a like a dream come true the way the mountain issue has been reflected in the climate negotiations since last year. Yet we still have a long way to go. Nepalese youth have heard from seniors on negotiation but did not have real experience about negotiation till Bangkok Climate Talks. For the 1st time, Nepali youths participated in the UN negotiation from Bangkok intersession and since its 1st participation, they have left their mark and made their presence felt in the negotiations. It was totally different from what we assumed, none of our youth counterparts knew about glacier melt in Himalayas. For them snow melting was just about polar bear and melting of icecaps in pole and Greenland but they were not aware on snow melting in the Himalayas and which directly affected livelihoods and life of billions of people.
We are just emitting 0.025 % of global share and are suffering and will be suffering a lot but our issue are unknown to lots of the people around the world and are not brought up in the climate negotiations too. This really made us think, so we planned to do something concrete to highlight our issue. We shared about our identity and our mountains among our international friends and we coordinated to organize mountain action where we chanted loud the mountain chant to save our mountains and prioritize the issue in the climate discussions. We even prepared a mountain pledge asking country delegates to sign the pledge which read “mountain issue will be prioritized in the negotiations” which 24 countries signed. It was a slow and steady start that went on to Barcelona climate talks and later, in the biggest climate conference in Copenhagen as well. When we reached to COP15 Copenhagen, our mountain issue started to gain some momentum.
We organized press meet and huge mountain action inside Bella center in joint effort of youth counterparts from south Asia and outside. We even participated in the summiteers’ summit in their save the Himalayas campaign organized by government of Nepal to support our government and make our voices heard throughout the globe.
Our joy doubled when Honorable Minister Madhav kumar Nepal announced Nepal’s plan to lead the mountain alliance initiative. it was really great to hear about the added strong official support for the issue that we were campaigning. We are very happy that government officials from Environment ministry are working very hard and pushing the mountain issue forward and working to start a negotiating block for the mountain group. We will be also working hard with our mountain campaigns in coming days Hope our hard effort and planning will really come to reality and the journey that we started from Bangkok will come to its destination.
To end with, our movement truly exemplifies the saying, ‘A journey of a thousand mile, begins with a single step’, and we’ve already taken that step.
2nd National Youth Climate Change Summit (Sauraha) Declaration 2010
We Nepali Youth acknowledge that
Climate change is occurring due to human activities which are having a significant negative and potentially dangerous influence.
Climate change will have far reaching effects on Nepal’s people and places, impacting on our economy, society and environment.
There are significant social, economic and environmental benefits in taking action to combat and prepare for climate change.
All of us have the duty and responsibility to take action to both mitigate and adapt to climate change, and to promote the sustainable development and well-being of our local communities.
We Nepali Youth welcome the
Opportunity for youth organizations and other agencies, businesses, voluntary and community organizations and individuals to show leadership at a local and national level to respond to climate change.
Opportunity to address climate change by promoting the sustainable development of our local communities.
Introduction of an environment curriculum in primary, secondary and university level.
Decisions and initiatives of Nepal Government and warm support of donor community to prepare Nepal to adapt to climate change and mitigate prime causes of it.
We Nepali Youth commit from this date to
Support Nepal Government and other stakeholders to contribute to the delivery and implementation of measures, including to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to future climate change scenarios.
Participate in local and regional and national networks for support.
Bring change in our own life and lead eco-friendly and justiciable life.
Encourage and work with others in our local community to take action to adapt to the impact of climate change, to reduce our own greenhouse gas emission and to make public our commitment to action.
Dedicate ourselves as dedicated community volunteers to sensitize communities on climate change.
We acknowledge the increasing impact that climate change will have on our community, Nepal and other countries during the 21st century and commit to tackling the causes and effects of a changing climate within our local area.
Going back the memory lane few years ago, youth involvement in climate change issue was very scanty, though Nepal has already been discovered as climate hotspot in terms of climate sensitivity in the world map. As the world was being involved in more hot dialogs and negotiations and adapting different agreement and protocols, in the mean time glaciers of Himalayas were being retreated at the dramatic rate and events of floods and droughts peaked in the history. Feeling the need of youth aspiration and involvement in the climate change to save our country and countrymen, Nepali youth stood up and started the climate action.
There was already a significant mobilization and strong youth climate movement at the international level, articulating national and international efforts to reduce emissions. In particular, some nations like Canada, Australia and USA had a strong youth climate movement fostering youth leadership and dialog on climate change. However, such youth dialog on climate change barely existed in Nepal, despite Nepal being one of most vulnerable country. There was an urgent need to kick off youth action in Nepal and synchronize with the international youth climate movement.
Nepali youth started the climate action to capture and reflect the voices and viewpoints of youth from all over Nepal. To raise the awareness among diverse group, youths organized wide range of local and national actions and campaigns from school program to house visit campaigns to visiting Constituent assembly members. To blend the climate change with the tradition and modern society youth came up with idea of climate friendly ‘duesi bhailo’ and gifting tree saplings to couples in Valentine day. This was the first ever step of the youth to fulfill the dream of climate friendly Nepal. On the solid foundation of these successful experiences Nepali youth took the initiation to convene national and regional youth summit to unite and empower the diverse youths and to raise a united voice on climate change. Nepali youth’s concern in climate change has also benefited the neighboring country when Nepali youth took the lead and held the south Asian youth climate summit uniting and empowering the youths from the region where the youth climate movement had barely started. South Asian youth climate summit was able to bring all the south Asian youths in the single platform first ever in the history.
We are champion in actions and campaigns, but we are not only confined to those success. Youngsters have also contributed in climate researches, a wide range of youths are contributing in the research for instance calculating carbon foot print, organizing the climate- related data, measuring the dimension of the trees and glaciers etc. but this is not sufficient. We need thousands of researches that Nepal has been lacking since long time. So we could not speak straight in the international forum. We could unequivocally conclude that youth involvement in climate change has not left any stone unturned and has been emerged as ray of hope in the dark tunnel.
Some youths are champions and operating specific project ideas to combat climate change and aspire to bring change in the society and some love to snap climate change in lenses and videos whereas others are working on energy saving campaign and climate caravan. Some are real heroes leading with examples using cycles and public transportation and lowering their carbon footprints and trying to adopt sustainable life styles. Not only this, Nepali youth also had one of the most successful grass root climate campaigns in Nepal’s history where youths from all over Nepal raised their voice to push 350 ppm of CO2 equivalent.
Nepali youth have showed a sturdy involvement both at the national and international level. Last year Nepali youth left marked impression internationally delivering youth intervention on behalf international youth in Bangkok and Barcelona Climate Talks. The United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen last year ended delivering a disappointing agreement “Copenhagen Accord” but the Conference which was the first for Nepali youth added a new aspect their movement which provided a learning opportunity for youths to get deep in to the international youth climate movement and develop knowledge to build similar movement in Nepal. Nepali Youth at Copenhagen made in to the eyes and ears of the delegates and youths because they raised national issue strongly with loud and audible voices for Himalayas.
Nepali youth involvement is peaking high and the movement has started to build up. Now it’s the right time to build a strong climate movement in Nepal. Youths are very important part of our society as they are future decision makers and can play a major role in popularizing the issue. They are future planners and a back bone of nation who can influence others to bring about change. Creating a strong youth climate movement will strengthen ongoing fight for climate justice and intergenerational equity with developed and advanced developing nations, leading to sustainable future and climate justice.
(Originally Published in Republica English Daily (myrepublica.com) on GenNexT Section, 14th March 2010 )
I was very happy and excited to read out the youth intervention on behalf of international youth in Barcelona climate talk during the Plenary of AWG-LCA. I would like to thank all who supported and boosted me .
The text of the intervention is:
This Week ,it has become clear that these negotiations are at risk of being delayed by yet another year, bringing us one year closer to tipping point of no return.
This is a race between the political tipping point and the scientific one.
We believe that the Copenhagen summit provides the last opportunity to catalyze this political tipping point and solve the climate crisis. We will not accept the downplaying of expectations for the outcomes of the COP15. We are calling for expectation levels- and ambition levels, particularly Annex I parties to rise.
We Young people are mobilizing in our communities, and trying too work with you to overcome resistance, to create that political tipping point.
Youth applaud and directly support the efforts of affected parties who have been calling for Annex-I parties to live up to their responsibilities.
To all of you here, take the brackets off our future.
Annex-I leaders- the deal depends on you. Where is your audacity of hope?
I still have fresh memory of last year post COP workshop which was organized by Climate Change Network Nepal (CCNN) informal network of NGO’s and INGO’s working on Climate Change issue in Nepal. It was very tough for us to attend the climate change workshops like Pre and Post COP workshops. We used to hardly get opportunity to attend such workshops where you could know more on climate change negotiations and climate conference.
Youth participation in climate workshops was negligible, where we could only see old aged people representing different NGOs and INGOs. But the things have changed in 1 year of time it has taken 180 degree turn; youth climate movement in Nepal is growing faster and faster and there are lots of youth participation in the climate change programs.
In this year Post COP workshop half of the total participant was youth. In the workshop we had a sharing on youth led climate campaign “ Stop Melting Life: Save the Himalayas” the campaign was focused to prioritize the Himalayas issue in both the national and international arena which has not gain much focused which it should have got. On behalf of Nepalese youth at COP 15 I shared on the activities that we carried out during our stay in Copenhagen, we had a great action though it was 1st COP for Nepalese youth. We also had a youth representative in the panel discussion which comprised people form Government, NGO and media.
The great part of the workshop was to have youth in the panel, which gives clear sign that youth are not the future they are the present partners for success. I am very happy to see the youth participation and interest to work on climate change and fight for climate justice. I have seen the change in 1 yr of time.
Thanks to friends from Nepalese Youth for Climate Action (NYCA) who have really worked hard to build the youth climate movement in Nepal. We need to work together to get this momentum going and have strong representation of Nepalese youth from all sectors to all regions of Nepal in next COP in Mexico.
It was second week of November when I read the news in Nepal’s English Daily which was on the statement made by Hon. Jai Ram Ramesh Environment Minister, Government of India “There is no conclusive scientific evidence to link global warming and Himalayan glaciers and neither to link the black carbon in the atmosphere with the glaciers”. I was very surprised by his statement since there are lots of research carried out by IPCC, ICIMOD and WWF that shows the Himalayan glaciers are melting because of the climate change.
The major climate change discussion COP15 was knocking the door and the statement made by Mr. Ramesh could hamper the stands of neighboring countries like Nepal and Bhutan where visible impacts of climate change in the glaciers were being felt. We planned and started to work out to hand over the letter of concern over the statement made by Hon. Jai ram Ramesh.
We then started to discuss the statement made by Mr. Jairam with the youth counterparts from the south Asian region. We are very thankful to friends from India, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who supported us and then we planned to hand over the letter to the Indian Embassy of the respective countries and finally to Mr. Jai Ram Ramesh. Nepalese Youth handed the letter of Concern in Embassy of India, Kathmandu.
We the south Asian youth met in Copenhagen for COP 15 where we sat and planned to hand over the letter to Indian Environment minister. We came to know that Hon. Jai Ram Ramesh is having a press conference and then we planned to ask the Question to Hon. Jai Ram Ramesh on the statement made by him back in India on Himalayan glacier and hand over the letter of Concern to him on behalf of south Asian youth. ( he had his Press Conference on December-11 : International Mountain Day)
Finally high school girl Alina from Nepal asked Question to him but she was stopped in the middle and was not given to complete her Question and Mr. Ramesh said I understood your question. Though she was stopped in the middle, she was allowed to handover a well framed letter to Mr. Ramesh which was Letter of concern from south Asian youth on his statement on Himalayan glacier.
After the press conference we also stood outside the main entrance door holding a paper written “No more Dirty Politics” and “There is evidence”
We felt happy and proud to raise our voice to save the Himalayas and felt that if youth are united they can do great and big things. We were praised and thanked by lots of seniors for the action done by us.
We want Indian Government to take a lead in the region to affectively tackle the problems of climate change and to raise the common voices of the region, including that of the Himalayas in the UNFCCC negotiations and other international forum
Read the letter
Hon Jairam Ramesh, Minister
Ministry of Environment
The Government of India
New Delhi, India
Copenhagen, December-11, 2009
Subject: Regarding the statement made by Honorable Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Environment, Government of India.
We the youth of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and
Sri Lanka are concerned by the statement made by Honorable Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Environment, and the Government of India that “there is no conclusive scientific evidence to link global warming and Himalayan glaciers and neither to link the black carbon in the atmosphere with the glaciers”
We would like to kindly draw your attention to the fourth assessment report of the IPCC, various scientific research and reports published carried out and published by individuals and reports published by institutions like Intergovernmental Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on Himalayan Glaciers. These researches substantiate the fact that climate change is accelerating glacial retreat in the Hindukush Himalayan region.
Mountaineer Mr. Apa Sherpa who has climbed Everest 19 times has observed changes in the mountain climate over the years. He reported seeing water 8, 000 meter above sea level where one has only witnessed snow in the past. Our own expedition to the Everest base camp has documented rapid changes in the mountain eco-systems. These changes in the climate have already made irreversible impacts on the life and livelihoods of the mountain community.
At the Regional Climate Change Conference FROM KATHMANDU TO COPENHAGEN A Vision for Addressing Climate Change Risks and Vulnerabilities in the Himalayas held in Kathmandu on August 31- September 1, 2009, South Asian countries, including India identified the HinduKush and Himalayan region as a climate change hot-spot to indicate changes due to climate change and how it would affect people and ecosystems from the mountains to the coasts.
We agree on the fact that this area requires further research to establish precise scientific evidences and critical knowledge gaps that exist. But observations and existing scientific literature indicate that unprecedented changes are happening very rapidly in the mountains. We need to further enhance our responses to climate change through the generation of required scientific data and also adaptation strategies at all levels with incremental adaptive steps meshing with agreed regional and global efforts to address the impacts of climate change.
We, the youth of South Asia request you to take a lead in the region to affectively tackle the problems of climate change. We also request you to raise the common voices of the region, including that of the Himalayas in the UNFCCC negotiations and other international forum.
I was very happy to be the part of the climate debt agent during Copenhagen climate conference. We are very thankful to MS Action Aid Denmark, Global NGO for organizing this campaign to put the voice of the poor least developed countries that have been hardly effected by climate change.
The message of the campaign was clear and simple: The rich countries, being most responsible for climate change, must pay their “climate debt” to the poor developing countries that are worst affected.
I was very happy to see the youths from the developed countries and Developing countries like Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh being the part of the campaign and pressuring the leaders of the developed nations to pay the climate debt to the poor and developing countries.
We were 3 from Nepal (Dipesh, Prashant and me) who was the part of the campaign. During the Campaign we met the Conie Hedegaard Danish Minister for Climate and Energy and President of COP 15 Conference and friends form the campaign handed the red climate debt agent suit. We also sang the climate debt agent song:
We are watching you
You know what to do
The number has been said
Pay your climate debt
This campaign was very praise worthy that brought up the voice of the poor countries which was carried throughout the climate conference and I am very happy to be the part of the campaign. Hope the leaders from developed nations will hear the voice of the poor communities and pay the climate debt soon.
We have seen the group that comprises both the developed and developing Nations does not work properly or fails. We do not want to be in the failures list and make the failing proposal.
It’s a great and bold decision by the Rt. Hon Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to promote the alliance of the mountainous country at the time when Copenhagen Summit seems to fall.
There has been lots of influence of developed and advance developing countries over the policy of the developing nations. The issue and problem of the developing mountainous small country is totally different form the developed and advanced developing countries. If we form the alliance with them we will be lost and have to face lots of constraints.
We should think something sustainable and form alliance of Mountainous Developing countries
We heartily welcome the proposal of the Prime Minister but request him to take the lead and form the alliance of Mountainous developing countries.
Since most of the mountainous developing countries fall under the LDC and G77 and China group. We also want to see this group to be more vocal which will influence the negotiation process and help to put the mountain issues strongly and provide the climate justice to vulnerable mountain community
Unheard voice from the mountains was heard loud in the every corner of the Bella center. Youth from the Himalayas, Andes, Alps and from African mountain states gathered and had an action to prioritize the mountain issue in the climate change negotiation.
To show the climate change impacts youth formed a human pyramid in the shape of a mountain initially which covered in blue and white fabric (to show the snow) and a timeline from 1950 – 2050, the white fabric got smaller and smaller to represent the melting snow.
Additional to dramatic glacier melt in the heated Bella Center there was a loud buzz of mountain chant which was rhymed to save the mountains which are the life line of the billions of the people. It was great to see youths in Bluish t-shirt, on the back which mountain was screaming and asking to save the people and keeping the hope that mountains issue will be heard in the negotiation.
At the end of the day youth from south Asia challenged Honorable Jai Ram Ramesh (Minister of Environment, Government of India) over his statement “there is no conclusive scientific evidence to link global warming and Himalayan glaciers and neither to link the black carbon in the atmosphere with the glaciers” during his press meet and gifted him a well framed letter of concerned over his statement.
Youth from the South Asian Region asked him to take the moral leadership and take deep emissions immediately.
Youth from the mountain country have felt the urgent need of mountain issue to be prioritized on the negotiation and asking for the issue to be raised and climate justice to the vulnerable mountain communities.
It would be great to see the government of mountainous small country taking the lead and forming a alliance of small country mountain states and make the voice heard in the negotiation
