KATHMANDU, June 12: Civil society leaders representing the mountainous region of Nepal on Monday handed over a letter of concern to the US embassy in Kathmandu expressing their displeasure regarding US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw support from the Paris climate deal.
The leaders united under the banner of Nepalese Civil Society Mountain Initiative (NCSMI), visited Stephanie Reed, deputy political and economic chief at the Political and Economic Section of the US embassy in Kathmandu and urged the Trump administration to rethink the withdrawal decision. NCSMI Coordinator Min Bahadur Shahi, who was present at the meeting, said that mountain people condemned Donald Trump's decision of withdrawing the Paris Climate Agreement.
“USA's leadership is a must in the execution of the Paris agreement. But walking away from the agreement is not the leadership what the world was looking from the USA. We strongly urge Donald Trump to revise the decision of withdrawing from the Paris agreement and work collectively with other communities for a habitable planet,” states the letter submitted to the embassy.
The civil society leaders have expressed their solidarity with the people of the USA, who are resisting Trump administration's extreme agenda on prioritizing fossils fuels profits over the people.
Civil society leaders are concerned after Trump decision. They said climate change has become an existential crisis for the poor and vulnerabilities communities of the mountain region and leaving Paris Climate Agreement is a direct attack and threat to the poor and vulnerable communities of mountains and other countries.
At the meeting, Stephanie Reed said that the concerns of the mountain community on USA's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement will be sent to the President Trump's office, Washington.
Lal Chandra Buda, a local from Dolpa, said that climate change has already been impacting their lives in mountainous districts and the USA's recent decision will have severe impacts on the lives and livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable frontline communities of the region.
Nepalese Civil Society Mountain Initiative is a network of civil society formed in 2014 during Rara Climate Conference. The network advocates for mountain issues due to climate change.
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