Bhutan PM Urges Wealthy Nations to Pursue Sustainable Growth for Public Wellbeing

Bhutan PM Urges Wealthy Nations to Pursue Sustainable Growth for Public Wellbeing
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Bhutan’s prime minister, Tshering Tobgay, has called on wealthy Western nations to prioritise environmental conservation and sustainable economic growth, arguing that such policies would improve citizens’ health and wellbeing, The Guardian reported.

Speaking during the final days of the UN climate summit, Tobgay said Bhutan’s experience as the world’s first carbon-negative nation shows that development centred on environmental protection is achievable even with limited resources.

Bhutan, a Buddhist democratic monarchy in the eastern Himalayas, maintains 72% forest cover and bases national policy on “gross national happiness” rather than GDP alone. Its climate strategy includes expanding hydropower, introducing solar and wind power, piloting green hydrogen, and tightening standards across transport, buildings and agriculture. The Climate Action Tracker considers Bhutan’s plans fully or nearly compatible with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C target.

The country graduated from the UN’s least developed country category in 2023 after advances in poverty reduction, education and life expectancy, achieved without loosening environmental regulations. But graduation reduced access to international climate finance even as climate impacts intensified. Bhutan’s mountain regions are warming faster than the global average, accelerating glacial melt and triggering floods that have displaced farming communities and driven up infrastructure costs.

Bhutan’s constitution requires at least 60% forest cover and prohibits mountaineering on sacred peaks, including Gangkhar Puensum, the world’s highest unclimbed mountain. “We are sequestering around five times the carbon dioxide we emit,” Tobgay said, warning that despite this, the country remains highly vulnerable to climate shocks.