Bhutan National Strategy and Action Plan for Low Carbon Development.

This National Strategy and Action Plan for Low Carbon Development (Plan) is formulated to uphold Bhutan’s commitment to remain carbon neutral. It aims to ensure that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions do not exceed the national sequestration capacity. The Plan assesses current and projected GHG emissions across various sectors including energy, agriculture, industry and waste. The plan underscores the importance of maintaining forest cover (constitutionally mandated at 60%) and improving energy efficiency to retain the nation’s carbon sink status.
The key strategies for achieving low carbon development in Bhutan focus on balancing sustainable economic growth with environmental conservation, ensuring that greenhouse gas emissions remain below the sequestration capacity of the country’s forests. Central to this approach is enhancing energy efficiency across all major sectors through the adoption of energy-efficient technologies and practices. A significant emphasis is placed on increasing the share of renewable energy—particularly hydropower, solar, and wind—within the national energy mix, while reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Industrial emissions are targeted through the adoption of international best practices and emission standards, especially within energy-intensive industries. The Plan highlights the importance of completion of the National Forest Inventory to enable the assessment of current and future sequestration capacity. Waste management strategies include methane reduction from municipal waste and the promotion of recycling and waste-to-energy solutions.
In the agriculture and livestock sector, the Plan promotes research for new rice farming system to increase yield while reducing emissions, control of livestock population and improving breed, and manure management to curb emissions. Bhutan also aims to leverage international climate finance mechanisms like the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA), and REDD+ to support these initiatives. The Plan also recommends cross-sectoral collaboration, strong policy integration, and consistent capacity building, ensuring that low carbon development is mainstreamed into national plans and supported through both local action and global partnerships.