Tedspresso - Bhutan

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This country isn't just carbon neutral — it's carbon negative | Tshering Tobgay

Length- 18:54

Key takeaways-

• Bhutan is a small landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas, nestled between India and China and it has a population of 700,000

• It is a constitutional monarchy and is ruled by a king as well as a democratically elected government

• Bhutan is the only country in the world to have a truly holistic approach to development. They call it Gross National Happiness and it aims to balance economic growth with social development, environmental sustainability and cultural preservation

• At the heart of Bhutan’s economic model is its constitution, written into law are provisions such as free universal healthcare, education and guarantees for the environment

• These environmental guarantees include opening up and creating wildlife corridors, investing and using renewable energy such as hydropower and limiting its usage of fossil fuels

• It is the only country in the world that is carbon negative as its vast forests absorb more c02 than it produces making it a carbon sync. It also uses less energy than it produces so is one of Asia’s biggest renewable energy exporters.

• Bhutan has been feeling the effects of climate change for decades - numerous glacial melts have wreaked havoc causing widespread floods and habitat damages. As a result, it is perhaps the only country right now that is putting the protection of the environment before economic gain.

• Tshering closes by asking the world to mobilise its resources to replicate Bhutan’s environmental policies in other countries as we are all in this fight together.

Link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lc_dlVrg5M

Quotes-

“ Gross national happiness is more important than gross national product”- 4th King of Bhutan

"My country and my people have done nothing to contribute to global warming. But we already bearing the brunt of its consequences." - Tshering Tobgay