The “Tibet Third Pole” team, a collation of many Tibet groups, participated in the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) which took place this year from November 30 to December 11 at Stade de France in Paris. Throughout the conference Tibetan representatives highlighted the significance of Tibetan Plateau to Asia and the issues currently affecting the environment there: forced resettlement of Tibetan nomads; illegal mining and building mega dams in Tibet.
Central Tibetan Administration’s Environment researcher, Tenpa Gyaltsen speaking at the panel
Photo: tibet.net
Mr Zamlha Tempa Gyaltsen, an environment researcher in the Tibet Policy Institute at the Central Tibetan Administration(CTA), spoke alongside other representatives of indigenous communities at a panel discussion entitled The Vision of Indigenous People to Cope with Climate Change which was attended by over 300 conference delegates and environmentalists. Mr Gyaltsen urged the world and the Chinese government to respect the immense wisdom of the indigenous people and Tibetan nomads in protecting the environment.
Kalon Dicki Chhoyang, Minister of Information and International relations at the CTA, introduced the CTA’s campaign Tibet: Climate Action for the Roof of the World at a special panel discussion at the Grand Palais. The panelists included: Matthieu Ricard, a French writer and Buddhist monk who spoke on the role of Tibetan culture in protecting the environment; Mr Martin Bursik, former Environment Minister of Czech Republicwho spoke of the international responsibility in protecting the Tibetan Plateau; Mr Tenzin Norbu, Environment Researcher and former head of the Environment and Development Desk of the CTA, on the current environmental situation in Tibet and Mr Gyaltsen on the global significance of the Tibetan Plateau and the impact that climate change is having on it.
At the Conference’s Climate Concert around 500 people participated in the Roof of the World Photo challenge [part of the CTA’s campaign, where people are photographed with their hands forming a roof over their head, the photos are published on social media to spread the word]. Performers at the concert included Bill Mckibben of 350.Org, singer Parry Smith, environmentalist Vandana Shiva, writer Noami Kline and Tibetan musician Tenzin Choegyal.
Tibetan delegates campaign at Paris Climate Conference
Photo:Tibet Third Pole
While Tibetan representatives in Paris took every opportunity to draw attention to the situation in Tibet and the threats to its environment, three Tibetan non government organisations also carried out a week-long campaign in Delhi in India. The Tibet Third Pole Coalition, comprising the Tibetan Women’s Association, Students for a Free Tibet-India and the International Tibet Network held the India Week of Climate Action for Tibet. The Climate Action week culminated in the climate rally for Tibet.
“In the last five days we have met political officers of the Embassies of Nepal, United States, Australia, the UN Information officer, and Shri Jairam Ramesh, former Minister of Environment and Forests, to stress the need for a multilateral forum of downstream countries to pressure China for responsible water usage and sharing”, said Dhardon Sharling, Member of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, “The highlight of our weeklong advocacy campaign was lobbying all of the 11 downstream nations of Tibet including China”.
“We performed a street theatre to demonstrate the very real water security issues downstream countries like India and Bangladesh will face if China continues its reckless hydropower projects on Tibet’s rivers,” said Jyotsna George, Campaigns Director, Students for a Free Tibet-India, “The Tibetan people and Tibet’s fragile environment deserve a voice at the UN COP21 summit, and we want the UN to take urgent climate action for Tibet: Roof of the World”.
The Tibetan Youth Association in Europe demonstrated in Switzerland
Photo: Facebook
The Tibetan Youth Association in Europe demonstrated in Berne, Switzerland, to draw attention to the importance of Tibet’s ecosystem to the rest of Asia, and to urge European countries to put Tibet on the COP21 agenda.
The UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) came into being on March 21, 1994 and now has a near-universal membership of 195 parties. This convention set out a framework for action aimed at stabilising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to “avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. The main objective of the UNFCC’s annual Conference of Parties (COP) is to review the Convention’s implementation.
In 2015 COP21, also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference has, for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, aimed to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C.
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