South Asian Youth Meet on climate change concludes
NEPAL: A four-day South Asian Youth Summit on Climate Change
concluded in Nepal on Sunday, making a five-point commitment and dishing
out a 10-point demand, local newspaper The Kathmandu Post reported on
Monday.
The 80 participants promised to form a youth network for uniting
grassroot and country-level movements across south Asia. They plan to
organize follow-up events, sensitize the society and create generations
of youth committed to a low carbon life.
The participants demanded that south Asian governments agree on the
Most Vulnerable Countries/ Alliance of Small Island States stance that
temperature increase should be limited to below 1.5 degrees Celsius
above pre-industrial levels and CO2 concentration should be brought back
to below 350 parts per million (ppm). They urged the Annex 1 parties to
commit to reduce emission by 45 percent by 2020 and 90 percent by 2050
with base year 1990 and emission peaking no later than 2015.
They demanded the need for the establishment of a party-funded south
Asian regional center. Such a center is to facilitate research,
scientific development, economic diversification and inclusion of youth
representative in the official delegation to climate change
negotiations, especially as a constituency to United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change talks.
According to Manjit Dhakal, summit coordinator, this summit has made
a South Asian Youth Network. Dhakal said, "We believe it will be more
effective if the government makes a push for these issues. "
Kathmandu, Monday, Xinhua |