While many wealthy countries are still looking for ways to become carbon neutral, a small country in the South Asian region, surrounded by mountains, became the world’s first carbon-negative nation. Bhutan prioritizes the living standards of its people and the preservation of the environment over economic expansion. The integration of environmental conservation, strong authority, and the strategies taken by policymakers is what made Bhutan a carbon-negative country. While many countries preserve environmental protection laws only on paper, Bhutan took immediate and practical steps to fight carbon emissions. Today, we will discuss how Bhutan’s strategies helped it achieve carbon negativity and what lessons other countries can learn from Bhutan.
What Does It Mean to Be Carbon-Negative?
Being carbon-negative means a country absorbs more carbon dioxide than it emits. In other words, the total carbon dioxide produced by a country’s people — through factories, businesses, machinery, and all sectors combined — is less than the country’s capacity to absorb CO₂.
Each year, Bhutan produces about 2.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide but absorbs around 6 million tonnes. This makes Bhutan carbon-negative by a significant margin.
As time passes, the climate change situation is rapidly worsening. Countries and climate-conscious organizations are putting measures in place to lower carbon emissions. In this situation, working towards carbon neutrality (and beyond) is crucial.
How Bhutan Became Carbon Negative
Bhutan’s journey started back in 2009 during the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (UN COP 15) in Copenhagen, where member states pledged to remain carbon neutral. At COP 21 in 2016, Bhutan reaffirmed its commitment.
One of the most important steps Bhutan took was prioritizing its Gross National Happiness (GNH) policy over economic or industrial growth. The Fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, famously said that “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product.”
This philosophy was embedded into Bhutan’s constitution, mandating that at least 60% of Bhutan’s land must remain covered by forests at all times. Unlike many countries that make similar laws but fail to enforce them, Bhutan took this seriously and implemented it thoroughly. Today, about 70% of Bhutan is covered in forests.
Additionally, 51% of Bhutan’s lands are protected, meaning no large-scale industrial projects can operate in these areas.
Bhutan began its renewable energy production in the 1980s, focusing on clean hydropower. Using the downstream flow of the Himalayas, Bhutan now produces about 99% of its electricity from hydropower. Each year, Bhutan generates around 10,000 GWh of electricity — more than it needs — and exports the surplus to neighboring countries.
The government also supplies free electricity to remote villages to discourage the use of fossil fuels. This initiative alone helps Bhutan avoid about 4.5 million tons of carbon emissions by replacing fossil fuel dependency.
In 1995, Bhutan passed a law to prevent forest exploitation, halting widespread tree-cutting for the timber industry. This decision preserved Bhutan’s forests, which today act as massive carbon sinks for the country.
There are many more small but impactful initiatives that helped Bhutan maintain its carbon-negative status. Bhutan limits tourism and restricts environmental exploitation. The government has also gone paperless.
The people of Bhutan have embraced an environmentally friendly lifestyle. In 2015, Bhutanese citizens set a world record by planting more than 46,000 trees in just one hour. These actions and collective efforts have contributed to Bhutan’s remarkable achievement.
The Future of Bhutan
Bhutan is not stopping at being carbon negative. The country is aiming for even greater environmental impact. Bhutan plans to transition its transportation sector to run primarily on electric power, aiming to replace 70% of vehicles with electric alternatives. Even government officials already use electric vehicles.
Bhutan is also exploring ways to expand its renewable energy sources by investing in solar and wind energy.
There’s no turning back for Bhutan. As time goes on, partnering with other countries and organizations will help Bhutan lower its emissions even further. It may soon become a global role model for a 100% renewable energy-based economy.
What Other Countries Can Learn
Bhutan’s example shows that tackling climate change is not always about having the most advanced technologies. Sometimes, it’s about the will to bring real change.
A clean political roadmap is essential — prioritizing people’s well-being and environmental conservation over solely focusing on industrialization or increasing GDP. A change in mindset, combined with government action and public participation, is key to achieving carbon-negative goals.
While these changes may seem difficult in the short term, if a country focuses steadily on environmental preservation, it can reach carbon neutrality or even negativity in the long run.
Conclusion
Many countries are making laws and policies about reducing emissions, but often these remain only on paper, and sometimes, implementation leads to even more emissions.
If countries truly want to tackle climate change, they must change their mindsets.
They must adopt strategies that significantly lower emissions, prioritize environmental conservation in their laws, and encourage active participation from civilians.
Only through these actions can a country achieve the status of being carbon-negative — just like Bhutan.
