KATHMANDU: The Himalayan Climate Charter 2025 was officially launched on Saturday during the Summit for Earth in Kathmandu, a joint initiative led by BLACKYAK in collaboration with the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, and the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC).

The charter, signed by representatives of various organizations, outlines a strategic roadmap to address the mounting climate crisis in the Himalayas. It calls for urgent global climate action, integration of local knowledge, community-based solutions, technological innovation, and stronger regional cooperation.

BLACKYAK Chairperson Kang Tae Sun emphasized the symbolic importance of the Himalayas in the global climate narrative, stating the charter represents a unified call for climate justice.

Speakers at the event, including NMA Chief Advisor Ang Tshering Sherpa, highlighted the urgent threats posed by glacial melting, biodiversity loss, and increased glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Chair Migma Sherpa advocated for allocating mountaineering royalties to fund mountain clean-up efforts.

During a panel discussion, experts including Dr. Maheshwor Dhakal (Ministry of Forests and Environment), Dr. Pasang Yanji Sherpa (University of British Columbia), Dr. Dhiraj Pradhananga (Tribhuvan University), Dr. Ghana Shyam Gurung (WWF Nepal), and Dr. Pema Gyamtsho (ICIMOD), stressed the need for evidence-based policy, localized climate data, citizen science, and transboundary cooperation in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.

Tourism Minister Badri Prasad Pandey reaffirmed the government’s commitment to environmental protection through the soon-to-be-launched Clean Mountain Strategy 2082, aimed at promoting responsible tourism and sustainable mountain conservation.