Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Kingdom of Bhutan is the only carbon neutral country in the world. More precisely it is even carbon negative.

I watched a TED talk by Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay where he shares his country’s mission to put happiness before economic growth and set a world standard for environmental preservation.

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

All development in Bhutan is driven by the principle that “Gross National Happiness is more important than gross national product” (statement of His Majesty the 4th King of Bhutan). Education and Healthcare are free for every citizen.

The Kingdom’s constitution says that “The Government shall ensure that, in order to conserve the country’s national resources and to prevent degradation of the ecosystem, a minimum of sixty percent of Bhutan’s total land shall be maintained under forest cover for all times.”

The people themselves didn’t ask for democracy. But the king imposes democracy on the people. The Constitution empowers the people to impeach the kings and requires that all the kings must retire at the age of 65.