A team of youth is heading to Mt. Qomolangma (also known as Mt. Everest) base camp this week to collect signatures for a petition demanding immediate action on climate change impacts, local media reported Sunday.
Nepalese Youth for Climate Action, in a press release, stated that the team would spend 15 days in the mountain areas and study impact of climate change in local communities. "The aim of the initiative is to increase public awareness on climate change," local newspaper The Himalayan Times cited the press release as saying. According to the press release, the signed petition will be displayed at side events during the climate change talks in Copenhagen in December.
Changes in the intensity and pattern of rainfall, accelerated glacier retreats in the Himalayas and increased frequency of vector borne diseases are said to be some of the visible impacts of climate change in the country. The Nepali government is trying their best to raise the awareness of climate change in Himalayas recently as the upcoming United Nations Framework Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) is scheduled to kick off in December in Denmark's capital Copenhagen. Deepak Bohora, Minister of Nepali Forest and Soil Conservation, said on Nov. 2 the government is to hold a cabinet meeting on Mt. Qomolangma to highlight the impact of global warming on the Himalayas. On the same day, a press conference held in Nepali capital Kathmandu said that Nepal will hold "Summiteers' Summit", which begins on Nov. 20 in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, and culminating in Copenhagen on Dec. 11. The upcoming UNFCCC is scheduled to kick off in December in Denmark's capital Copenhagen. The Copenhagen talks are expected to come up with a new climate deal.