Nepal's cabinet met on Mount Everest today to highlight the threat of global warming to the glaciers and mountains of the Himalayas.The government, represented by ministers wearing thick jackets, woolen hats and in some cases oxygen masks, endorsed a resolution on climate change in the bright sunshine of a Himalayan morning before flying back.
The 20-minute meeting, which took place under the shadow of the peak of Mount Everest, comes in advance of next week's key climate change summit in Copenhagen. The political stunt comes after a cabinet meeting held underwater in October by Maldivian ministers which drew attention to the risk the Indian Ocean island-state faces from rising seas.
On the Himalayan slopes, ministers posed for pictures, signed a commitment to tighten environmental regulations and pledged to expand the nation's conservation areas.
"Due to global climate change and its effects, the entire human civilisation is faced with additional challenges for their survival" said the prime minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal told reporters.
Nepal, which sits between China and India, is home to Everest, the world's tallest peak, and eight more of the world's 14 highest mountains. Global warming, say many experts, could see glaciers on the roof of the world melt away – threatening the water and food security for 1.5 billion people downstream in south Asia.
