Emission of greenhouse gases and carbon has to be controlled to bring down the global temperature by 1.5¿ to 2¿ by 2050. Twenty-two youth delegates at the South Asian Youth Environment Meet (SAYEM) 2011 advocated for the same as four representatives from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan prepared a youth charter.

The charter, which was read out at SAYEM by city boy Sharad Vivek Sagar, comprises demands for environmental protection and awareness, including the renewal of the Kyoto Protocol. SAYEM, 2011 was organised in Dhaka, Bangladesh from November 18-20.

The Kyoto Protocol, aimed at fighting global warming, is signed and ratified by 191 states till September 2011. The US, however, has signed the protocol but not ratified it, as it is subject to the passage of a bill in the US Congress.

Sagar said: ?Countries party to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 pledged to ensure sustainable development in their own regions in the next 15 years. The protocol will expire in 2012 but its continuity should not be at stake.? Sagar, the regional ambassador of Asia-Pacific for the United Nations Environment Programme Tunza Eco-Generation, said the charter also incorporated that the youth leaders expect countries to cut down on emission of greenhouse gases and carbon to 85 per cent of the 1990-levels, which will lower the global temperature by 1.5¿ to 2¿ by 2050.

Non-renewal of the Kyoto Protocol will lead to unregulated emission of greenhouse gases and carbon, which would lead to augmented global warming and destroy the climate system.

He added: ?Global surveys state south-Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh and Bhutan are not much responsible for pollution but suffer the most. The youth charter demands a South Asian Climate Forum and South Asian Climate Fund for these countries.? Sagar said the South Asian Climate Forum should be meant for climate awareness and should arrange funds for south Asian countries that require rehabilitation after a natural disaster, much like the motives of South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation.

Sagar, who is a passout of St Dominic Savio?s High School, also stressed on clean and green technology. He added: ?Twenty to 30 years ago, countries were not even convinced about climate change. However, severe climatic changes, number of disasters, rising global temperature and melting polar icecaps have brought the issue of global warming to the forefront of the world. We expect the governments of all the countries to take the issue of global warming seriously and ensure a stronger and stricter protocol for environment conservation.?

The youth charter read out by Sagar at SAYEM 2011 will now be presented at the ?Conference of Parties 17? in Durban, South Africa, between November 28 and December 9.