December 11, 2009 

At a special press conference today, the Hon’ble Prime Minister signed Bhutan’s Declaration on Climate Change. The Declaration was formally handed over to the Agriculture Minister, Lyonpo Pema Gyamtsho, who will be leading Bhutan’s delegation to COP15, which is currently underway in Copenhagen. He will in turn, deliver the Declaration to the Chairman of COP15, the Prime Minister of Denmark, and the heads of other delegations at the conference.

The Declaration commits Bhutan to continue absorbing more carbon than it emits, and to maintain the country’s status as a net sink for green house gases (GHG). According to the most recent estimates, Bhutan’s net annual GHG emission amounts to - 4.7 million tones, making it one of the few countries to have a negative carbon emission.

Prior to signing the Declaration, the Prime Minister spoke to the media persons on the eminent dangers posed by climate change, especially to mountain countries such as Bhutan. He called on the media to accord the highest importance to the environment, and on each media person to become an “Environmental Champion”. Cabinet members, the Speakers of the National Assembly and the National Council, Members of Parliament and other senior officials were present at the signing.

Declaration of the Kingdom of Bhutan - the Land of Gross National Happiness to Save our Planet(2.71MB)