H.E DASHO UGYEN TSHERING – CVF Global Parliamentarians Meeting

H.E DASHO UGYEN TSHERING – CVF Global Parliamentarians Meeting, Honorable Member of the Parliament of Bhutan and Chair of the Environment Committee

CVF Global Parliamentarians Meeting

“Parliamentarians of Climate Threatened Nations Championing Planetary Prosperity”

November 25, 2020

Excellencies, 

Honorable participants, 

Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is an honor for me to represent the Royal Government of Bhutan in the Global Parliamentarians Meeting, organized by the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) in collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA). 

It is my pleasure to inform that Bhutan has been the vanguard of environmental conservation despite being a Least Developed Country (LDC), most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Further, Bhutan declared to remain carbon neutral at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC held at Copenhagen in 2009. This commitment was further reaffirmed through the submission of our Nationally Determined Contributions in 2015.

Let me also take this opportunity to share that our second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is progressive and ambitious in target and is geared towards contributing to the global goal of 1.5 degree Celsius. 

Environmental conservation is recognized as a key determinant towards achieving our developmental goal of “Gross National Happiness” which focuses on sustainable and equitable socio-economic development. In recognition of the importance of environmental conservation and the multiple threats of climate change, the Parliament of the Kingdom of Bhutan has formed a dedicated Committee, titled, ‘Environment and Climate Change Committee’. The Committee provides the required impetus to ensure matters related to climate change are given due consideration and deliberation at the Parliamentary sessions.

We recognize the amplified set of challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our efforts to address climate change. Notwithstanding the challenges, the Royal Government is determined to ensure that our response and recovery to COVID-19 pandemic is inclusive of measures to mitigate climate change and protect our natural environment. Additionally, our developmental plans have been reprioritized to ensure that adequate resources are allocated to ensure sustainable socio-economic recovery.

As the Paris Agreement moves into post-2020 implementation, harnessing the levers of both national implementation and global decision-making will be important to build back better from COVID-19 and put the world on track to 1.5 c world. Bhutan would like to call for a robust, ambitious and promising climate actions from all the parties. 

***Thank you***

H.E Dasho Ugyen Tshering Statement – PDF