Back to news
28 Jul 2021 | COP26

HKH2Glasgow: Hindu Kush Himalaya countries to raise a unified voice for mountains at COP26

7 mins Read

70% Complete
Photo: Alex Treadway/ICIMOD

Delegates from the eight Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) countries, including UNFCCC national focal points and HKH High-Level Task Force members – along with representatives from the COP26 Presidency – met on 15 July 2021 to articulate a collective mountain voice for more ambitious climate action in the HKH in the run up to the Twenty Sixth Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC).

 

Why promote ambitious climate action for the Hindu Kush Himalaya?

The HKH is the Pulse of the Planet. The region, which covers 4 million sq. km and is spread across eight countries is home to four global biodiversity hotspots. With almost 20 percent of its landmass under snow cover, it has the largest reserves of ice outside the Polar Regions and contains the headwaters of 10 major Asian river systems.  The region supports the livelihoods of 240 million people living in the mountains, and 1.65 billion people living downstream. Around 3 billion people – or almost 1/3 of humanity – benefit from the food produced in the HKH river basins.

However, the HKH is at the frontline of the climate emergency. Even in a 1.5 degree Celsius world, glaciers in this region are projected to lose a third of their volume by the end of this century. An increase in temperature and changes in precipitation have already impacted mountain communities negatively. The impact of COVID-19 has further exacerbated the vulnerability of mountain communities. These concerns were raised by delegates from the HKH countries.

“Afghanistan is already experiencing the impacts of climate change. The mean annual temperature in Afghanistan has seen a significant and pronounced increase of 1.8°C since 1950, while the corresponding average for the Hindu Kush Himalaya is 1°C. Mean annual rainfall has decreased at an average of 2% per decade for the same period.” – Rohullah Amin, Director for Climate Change, Climate Change Division, National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), Afghanistan.

“Communities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, especially women, indigenous peoples and socially disadvantaged groups, are impacted severely by climate change due to their low adaptive capacity. Climate change also impacts food security and economic growth in the region. Nepal is likely to lose 13 percent of its GDP to climate change by 2100 in extreme scenario” – Radha Wagle, Joint secretary/Chief, Climate Change Management Division, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Nepal.

“Bhutan along with other countries in the HKH is located in the fragile mountainous ecosystem making us highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Our economy is totally dependent on the climate sensitive sectors – agriculture being one example.” Tshering Tashi, Chief of Climate Change division, National Environment Commission (NEC), Bhutan.

 

There is an urgent need to strengthen the resilience of mountain ecosystems and the people who rely on them. A collective mountain voice at COP26 will help highlight the need for ambitious climate action for the region.

“Current national, regional and global policies have a limited focus on addressing the impacts of climate change in mountain regions. To address this gap, the eight countries should together promote an inclusive and whole of society approach and a collective voice for the mountains at COP26. If we are able to make them understand the urgency of taking climate action in the mountains, it will be great success for the wellbeing of mountain people.” Md. Huzur Ali, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, Bangladesh.

“In this decade of climate action and ecosystem restoration – the eight HKH countries, which share a common mountain ecosystem, can cooperate and set an example for others to follow. COP26 is a big opportunity for the HKH community to bounce back and move forward into a resilient, sustainable and inclusive world.” – Jigmet Takpa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, India.

 

How can we promote ambitious climate action in the Hindu Kush Himalaya?

Delegates identified the need to scale-up investment and strengthen cooperation to deliver ambitious climate action for the HKH.

“For the three billion people that rely on the HKH Mountains for their lives and livelihoods, climate change is a very real threat. Regional cooperation and mountain-specific investment solutions are critical to help protect vulnerable communities from climate impacts.”

As COP26 Presidents, the UK is committed to playing its part. We’ve doubled our International Climate Finance spend to £11.6bn between 2021 and 2025, and we’re working with partner governments and the private sector around the world, including in the Himalayan region, to drive action to help build local, national and global resilience.” – Anne-Marie Trevelyan, UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for COP 26.

 

Participants also underlined that aligning measures to address climate change and COVID will provide ‘mountains of opportunity’ to scale-up investment in green, resilient and inclusive development.

Investment in six aligned measures – nature-based solutions, resilient mountain infrastructure, resilient mountain enterprises, resilient labour markets, shock responsive social protection systems, and climate responsive financial systems – will enable mountain communities to transition into resilient and carbon neutral societies by 2030. Some countries are already taking steps in this regard.

“China’s stimulus packages for economic recovery from COVID 19 has been integrated into the 14th Five Year Plan. Climate change mitigation and adaptation is addressed through five areas: (1) Setting up mandatory targets to reduce carbon intensity of the economy; (2) Developing action plans for carbon peak; (3) Speeding up carbon trading mechanism; (4) Developing and implementing Climate Adaption Action Plan 2021-2035; (5) Strengthening international collaboration.” Chen Huai, Professor and Deputy Director General, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

“There is a deficit of resilient and high-value mountain products and services like dairy, meat, crops and horticulture. As we recover from COVID-19 and address climate change, we need new mechanisms for innovation, technology, knowledge exchange and communication to support green and resilient mountain value chains and enterprises.”Muhammad Azeem Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Pakistan.

 

Participants also recognized that harnessing the Power of 8 countries will enhance regional and international cooperation for climate action. This includes cooperation to facilitate data sharing to address transboundary climate risks and cooperation to support regional and international learning and technology transfer for innovation, capacity building, and green infrastructure.

“Myanmar will continue to work with ICIMOD and regional member countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Scaled-up investment in mountain specific mountain priorities is essential to contribute to climate resilient mountain communities, carbon neutral mountain societies and climate-aligned financial flows for green, resilient and inclusive development in the region.” Thaung Naing Oo, Deputy Director General, Forest Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, Myanmar.

“By setting ambitious targets to adapt to climate change and limit carbon emissions, our region is intent on being part of the solution. The challenge ahead of us is that many of the issues are transboundary in nature. A regional approach, supported by international financial and technical support, is needed to complement local and national efforts. There are many things that a country can do better on its own, but there are also several areas where we can do better as a region and, I believe, addressing the challenges posed by climate change is one of them.”Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.

 

HKH2Glasgow: The Road to UNFCCC COP26

The consultative meeting launched the HKH2Glasgow campaign. The campaign will amplify mountain voices at COP26 to promote ambitious climate action for the HKH and to scale-up investment in mountain specific climate priorities. Over the next few months delegates from the 8 HKH countries will develop a common position paper and convene high level events to amplify key asks for the HKH.

“The HKH2Glasgow consultation meeting was a landmark event to raise a united voice for the HKH and its people. I appreciate the efforts of ICIMOD to bring the regional member countries together on a common platform to send a strong message to the global community at COP26. Most HKH countries have contributed the least to global warming, but are the most vulnerable to its impacts. They have developed their climate change policies intelligently, but the lack of financial and technological resources and capacity constraints don’t allow them to implement their mitigation and adaptation policies.”Muhammad Irfan Tariq, Director General, Ministry of Climate Change, Pakistan.

 

For further information on the #HKH2Glasgow campaign, please visit: www.icimod.org/cop26


For further queries, please contact

Maxim Shrestha
Media officer
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal
Email: maxim.shrestha@icimod.org
ICIMOD Media Unit: media@icimod.org
Mobile: +977 9840128334

Utsav Shakya
Communications Officer
British Embassy Kathmandu, Nepal
Email: utsav.shakya@fcdo.gov.uk
Mobile: +977 9801034707

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up
Ministry of Chattogram Hill Tracts Affairs and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development join forces to promote Nature-based Solutions in Bangladesh

Dhaka, Bangladesh, 29 May 2024 - Regional intergovernmental knowledge centre ICIMOD has partnered with Bangladesh’s Ministry of Chattogram Hill Tract Affairs ...

5 Jun 2023 Press releases
山区居民、登山者和科学家在珠峰敲响警钟,倡议世界各国领袖们立即迈向脱碳之路

距人类首登世界之巅已70年,而气候紧急情况发生在此:在兴都库什-喜马拉雅区域内,三分之二的冰川预计将在本世纪末消失。 领先的山地机构国际山地综合发展中心(ICIMOD)、尼泊尔登山协会(NMA)和山区伙伴关系(Mountain Partnership) 呼吁全世界来拯救地球上的冰雪,以避免为时过晚。 #“拯救我们的雪”宣言在最初48小时内就收集到1000多个签名,其中包括新西兰前总理、各国外交官、传奇登山者和著名地球科学家。 尼泊尔加德满都讯(2023 年 5 月 29 日)——七十年前的今天,在埃德蒙·希拉里爵士和丹增·诺尔盖首次登上珠峰 ; 70 年后的今天,地球上最高的山峰正在经历由全球变暖引起的前所未有且基本不可逆的变化。 全球变暖正在危及珠峰与兴都库什-喜马拉雅地区的环境,该地区横跨八个国家,约长3500公里。根据目前的排放情况,科学家预计在未来70年内,该地区三分之二的冰川或将消融。 国际山地综合发展中心(ICIMOD)在包括 尼泊尔登山协会 和 山区伙伴关系(联合国自愿伙伴联盟)在内的全球山地机构的支持下,呼吁公众支持 #拯救我们的雪(#SaveOurSnow)运动。该运动要求公众: 在社交平台分享来自世界各地山区的故事和照片,使用#SaveOurSnow 标签 强调气候影响; 在网址 icimod.org/saveoursnow/declaration/ 签署一份宣言,呼吁各国政府兑现将升温限制在 1.5 ...

12 Dec 2018 Press releases
Koshi DRR knowledge hub to strengthen transboundary collaboration

At the launch of the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for greater ...

3 Apr 2025 Press releases
Kathmandu choked on polluted air for 75 of the last 90 days

Kathmandu- As air quality in Kathmandu hit the hazardous or extremely hazardous category this week, new ICIMOD analysis shows that ...

19 Jun 2016 Press releases
Knowledge forum calls for strengthened regional collaboration to support inclusive climate resilience in the Himalayan and downstream region

Unless countries in the Himalayan and downstream region strengthen collaboration to address food, water and energy issues, the region’s agricultural ...

29 May 2023 COP28
Mountain communities, climbers and scientists sound alarm from Everest and call for world leaders to decarbonise now

The climate emergency is here for Earth’s tallest mountain, 70 years on from the first ascent, with two-thirds ...

11 Dec 2014 Press releases
Raising the voice of the mountains at UNFCCC COP 20

Representatives from LDC mountain nations call for greater investment in the mountains for a sustainable global future (11 December ...

15 May 2018 Press releases
Forty-ninth ICIMOD Board of Governors meeting

ICIMOD works for the advancement of mountain people in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. It is governed by its BoG, ...