In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Tshering Tobgay, the Prime Minister of Bhutan, has issued a powerful challenge to wealthy Western nations: follow his country's carbon-negative example to improve your citizens' health and happiness.
The Carbon-Negative Himalayan Kingdom
Bhutan, a Buddhist democratic monarchy nestled high in the eastern Himalayas, has achieved the remarkable distinction of being the world's first carbon-negative nation. This mountainous country, home to 750,000 people with approximately half working as subsistence farmers, has managed to sequester around five times the amount of carbon dioxide it emits.
"Even with our limited resources and huge geographical challenges, we have managed to prioritise climate action, social progress, cultural preservation and environmental conservation because the happiness and wellbeing of our people and our future generations is at the centre of our development agenda," Tobgay stated during the interview conducted as the UN climate summit entered its final days.
Gross National Happiness Over GDP
Bhutan's extraordinary climate leadership stems from its unique development philosophy that prioritises gross national happiness over conventional economic growth. The country's constitution explicitly dedicates an entire article to environmental protection, mandating that at least 60% of the country must remain under forest cover.
Remarkably, Bhutan currently maintains 72% forest coverage, creating a crucial carbon sink that benefits the entire planet. This environmental commitment is deeply rooted in both policy and culture, with Bhutanese beliefs holding that deities reside within the natural environment, leading to protected forests and banned mountaineering.
In 2023, Bhutan graduated from the UN's least developed country category, becoming only the seventh nation to achieve this status. This milestone was reached not by relaxing environmental standards but by tightening regulations and prioritising air, water and land quality.
Climate Leadership Amid Growing Challenges
Despite its minimal contribution to global heating, Bhutan faces severe climate impacts. Mountain ranges are warming faster than the global average, causing glaciers to melt and lakes to overflow. Floods have already displaced farming communities, and road maintenance costs have more than doubled.
"We are taking care of our biodiversity, taking care of our forests. We are nature positive, carbon negative. Yet, because we are a landlocked mountainous country, we bear the brunt of climate change impacts," Tobgay emphasised.
The Climate Action Tracker recognises Bhutan as among only a handful of countries with climate plans fully or almost compliant with the Paris agreement goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels.
A Call to Action for Wealthy Nations
Tobgay delivered a clear message to developed countries: "If we can do it, developed rich countries with a lot more resources and revenue can – and must do a lot more to reduce their emissions and fight the climate crisis."
He urged Western nations to recognise that environmental conservation and sustainable economic growth would ultimately benefit their own citizens' health and happiness. "GDP is for what? Reducing carbon emissions is for what? It has to be for the happiness and wellbeing of your people," he stated.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the unfairness in current climate discussions: "Too often bad behaviour is recognised and rewarded and good behaviour is not seen, it's taken for granted. We've got to reverse that."
Last year at COP29, Bhutan helped launch an alliance with Panama, Suriname and Madagascar – other carbon-negative or carbon-neutral countries – to gain greater recognition for their oversized contributions to global climate action. The group plans to hold an inaugural summit in Bhutan next year to showcase climate solutions and deliver their message to the developed world.
"We are taking care of our people, our economy is growing, and at the same time we've been able to take care of our environment," Tobgay concluded. "If such small developing countries can do it, there's no excuse that larger countries cannot play bigger roles. After all, they are the leaders of the world."
