Pemba's plea to reduce carbon emission

KATHMANDU: The world's fastest man to climb Mount Everest, Pemba Dorje Sherpa, appealed to the Government of Australia to reduce its carbon emission by half within five years to help control global warming. Issuing a press statement in the capital today, Friends of the Earth informed about Pemba's appeal to the Australian government to help stop the rapid melting of the Himalayas. "The impact of global warming is two-to-four times higher in the Himalayas compared to the global average. This rise in temperature and the melting of the glaciers will increase hazards such as avalanches, landslides and flash floods," read the statement.

Pemba had also requested Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to take initiatives to save the Himalayas by reducing the country's carbon emission by helping to control global warming. Pemba and executive director of Pro Public Prakash Mani Sharma had joined the friends of Earth Campaigners to climb Australia's highest peak, Mt Koskuisko, to protest the failure by developed countries like Australia to adopt strong measures and fair policies in international climate negotiations.

"We demand climate justice. Many countries in Asia are least responsible for global warming. It is the rich countries that are more responsible for the rise in temperature. Therefore, Australia must do more to save our Himalayas," said Sharma.

Pemba and Sharma also met politicians and departmental officials of Canberra seeking immediate action to help save the Himalayas.