Rohit Thota |
The Kingdom of Bhutan is the only country that is currently carbon negative and it remains committed to securing a green and sustainable future for the next generations. Carbon negativity is reducing the carbon footprint in a way that the system has a net effect of eliminating more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than what it contributes to adding to it. Bhutan is a tiny country in the Himalayas sandwiched between two of the major producers of carbon dioxide, India and China, and yet they have managed to achieve carbon negativity.
Unlike most countries, Bhutan has based its government policies and decisions on a Gross National Happiness (GNH) index and discarded the concept of depending on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Two of the four pillars of the GNH, sustainable development and conservation of the environment, are centered on the protection of nature and led to the country’s progress in cutting down the emissions in the atmosphere. The constitution directs that at least 60 percent of the landmass must be maintained and protected as forests, being the only country that protects its forests by its constitution. Currently, with about 70 percent of forest coverage, the country has become a carbon sink – absorbing over six million tons of carbon while producing only 1.5 million tons. They set aside resources and funds to help the protection of forests and the prevention of poaching and hunting.
The country utilizes hydro-electric power from its several rivers as its main source of generating electricity over burning the polluting fossil fuels. Currently, a majority of the hydro-electric power generated in Bhutan is exported to India, which offsets millions of tons of carbon dioxide. Bhutan aims to offset up to 22 million tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2025. They have achieved the goal of providing electricity to every part of the country to reduce the dependence on burning wood and other polluting fuels in the rural areas in 2016, four years ahead of their initial estimate. Besides regulating pollution standards and developing public transportation, the country is going the extra mile to subsidize electric vehicles and promote decarbonization of the transport sector.
Although the country’s accomplishment is an exemplary model for many countries in the fight against climate change, Bhutan is severely exposed to the devastation of climate change. The forests are being destroyed and yields have been decreasing because of the floods, erratic rains, and landslides. In the future, as it gets warmer, the country might have extreme seasons, with dam bursts and floods during the summer and droughts in the winter. This would disrupt the hydroelectric power generation, the source of generation of most of the country’s energy needs and revenue from exporting to India, and the availability of drinking water. The country has started diversifying its generation technologies like solar and wind to reduce its reliance on hydropower thereby increasing the security of supply.
Unfortunately, even though Bhutan has achieved the phenomenal feat of providing 100 percent electricity access and being the first carbon negative country, it does not have the resources and funds to sustain on its own. During the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) in Copenhagen, the developed nations pledged to direct a fund of $100 billion annually to help developing nations adapt to climate change. But with the US pulling out of the agreement and the other countries not delivering their pledges, it is difficult for the small nations to adapt. During this conference in 2009, Bhutan made a promise to continue being a carbon-negative nation. In the recent COP25, Yeshey Penjor - the Minister of Agriculture and Forests, stressed that the livelihood and the people living in the mountains are vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
A few of the European countries are now committing to becoming carbon neutral soon by cutting down on their carbon output. A handful of organizations and companies have started initiatives to cut down on their emissions and are taking offsetting measures to balance out the remaining to attain a zero-carbon footprint. But most of the world’s wealthy countries and industries are expelling greenhouse gases faster than what can be contained and are continuing to contribute to the warming of the world. Small countries like Bhutan who have done nothing to cause anthropogenic climate change and rather help tackle the issue end up being affected the most due to the lack of resources and help.
About the author
Rohit Thota
Sustainable Energy Technology student
Being a student of SET, he aims to give readers an outlook on the climate crisis from a technical as well as a general perspective. He likes to write about entities that are contributing to a cleaner future and is a big fan of wind turbines.