Sign our declaration

‘There is no time left.’

Mountain communities, climbers and scientists sound alarm from Everest for world leaders to decarbonise now.

Human activity has pushed Earth’s systems close to tipping points beyond which it will be extremely challenging to sustain life.

The tallest mountain on earth, Everest – or Chomolungma, Goddess, Mother of the World, as it is known in Tibetan, is undergoing unprecedented and largely irreversible change.

Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, agriculture and deforestation are warming the planet to such an extent that two-thirds of the 54,000 glaciers, holding 6,000 km³ of ice, across the Hindu Kush Himalaya mountain range are at risk of vanishing.

As scientists warn of the 1.5°C threshold being passed – even if just temporarily – in the next five years, global warming threatens to unleash catastrophe across the Hindu Kush Himalayas: jeopardising the lives and livelihoods of 240 million people in the mountains and 1.65 billion more people downstream.

On glaciers that surround Everest, ice has thinned by over 100 metres in just six decades, and the rate of thinning has nearly doubled since 2009.  Imja Lake, in the Everest region, is one of the most dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal. The Khumbu Glacier, which is the iconic starting point for most expeditions, is precariously close to melting.

Dangerous climate change has already reached this region, causing catastrophic floods, droughts, heatwaves and other natural disasters. Nobody is safe, but, in a region where more than half the population are malnourished, the most vulnerable will be the hardest hit. These trends are set to worsen as the planet warms. There is no time left. To borrow a phrase from mountaineering, there is now just the narrowest of windows in which to act.

We – mountain communities, climbers and scientists – stand at the top of the world today, 70 years after humanity’s first ascent of Everest, to call for governments and business leaders and every man, woman and child across the world to come together to protect Earth’s mountains, snow, and ice.

With even 1.5 degrees of warming too hot for the Hindu Kush Himalaya and the quarter of humanity who live within or rely on it, every fraction of a degree matters. We urge leaders of all nations: make real on your commitments to make rapid and deep emission cuts, end all new coal, gas and oil exploration, and accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

We are calling for the protection of natural ecosystems; the scaling up of work to halt deforestation while increasing afforestation and reforestation; much greater investment and faster flows of funding in climate resilience and adaptation, including early-warning systems for all mountain communities; greater recognition and integration of local and indigenous communities in decision-making; and greater international cooperation and funding for loss and damage.

In signing this declaration, we pledge our commitment to fight to prevent the worst climate impacts – to fight to protect and restore our planet. Choices made now will decide all our futures.

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