WWF

It was a Thursday, the 21st of May 2009. On that clear sunny spring morning, legendary mountaineer Apa Sherpa stepped onto the summit of Mt. Everest for the 19th time. But it was not the glory and the triumph of creating yet another world record that took Apa to the top of the world. This time, Apa was on a mission with a cause. At this highest platform in the world, Apa unfurled a banner with a grave message, calling out to the world community – “STOP CLIMATE CHANGE – LET THE HIMALAYAS LIVE!”

Six months later Apa Sherpa is embarking on yet another noble expedition, a journey through the European continent, one of the highest per capita GHG emitting regions of the world. There, Apa will reach out to the people in Europe - the future actions of whose will determine the future of Apa’s community and hundreds of millions of other people who live in the drainage system of the Himalayas.

Just like many other expeditions they set out on together, Apa will be joined in this European Expedition by Dawa Steven Sherpa, Everest summiteer and a tireless Ambassador for Climate Change and Environmental issues in the region.

As Climate for Life Campaign Ambassadors, Apa and Dawa will be travelling through 10 European cities starting from the historic city of Prague, through Brno, Bratislava, London, Rome, Geneva, Chamonix, Vienna, Brussels and finally to Copenhagen. They will meet high-profile politicians and celebrities and people in the streets of these European cities delivering the message from Himalayan communities like the Sherpas, who truly exemplify how a small community  literally living at the frontiers of Climate Change impacts can refuse to remain a mute spectator to the injustice meted out to them.

The European Expedition is part of the Climate for Life Campaign spearheaded by WWF Nepal to raise the profile of the Himalayas in the global climate debate in collaboration with Government of Nepal, its development partners, and a large number of non-profit and private organizations. Starting with Apa’s wake-up call from the top of the world, the Campaign has reached out to a large mass of people in Nepal and beyond with a compelling voice for global action with powerful events - such as having Rt. Hon. Prime Minister of Nepal present rocks from the Everest Summit to US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to collecting petitions against climate injustice from 200,000 Nepali youth which was handed over to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. “The European Expedition” is the next leg of this massive awareness drive.

Dawa and Apa will also carry through Europe the declaration of Kathmandu to Copenhagen Climate Conference, an ambitious and forward-thinking effort made with the support of The World Bank Group, Asian Development Bank, DFID, Embassy of Denmark Nepal and under the leadership of Government of Nepal where eight countries –Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Kyrgyz Republic – came together to sign a Joint Statement urging the industrialized countries to come up with an effective Treaty at Copenhagen. Climate for Life Campaign was the communication partner of the event and will carry the message from these countries through its Ambassadors across Europe.