Transcript: This Country Isn’t Just Carbon Neutral – It’s Carbon Negative by Tshering Tobgay

Here is the full transcript of Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay’s TED Talk: This Country Isn’t Just Carbon Neutral – It’s Carbon Negative at TED 2016 conference.

Listen to the MP3 Audio here: this-country-isnt-just-carbon-neutral-its-carbon-negative-by-tshering-tobgay

TRANSCRIPT: 

In case you are wondering, no, I’m not wearing a dress, and no, I’m not saying what I’m wearing underneath.

This is a gho. This is my national dress. This is how all men dress in Bhutan. That is how our women dress. Like our women, we men get to wear pretty bright colors, but unlike our women, we get to show off our legs.

Our national dress is unique, but this is not the only thing that’s unique about my country. Our promise to remain carbon neutral is also unique, and this is what I’d like to speak about today, our promise to remain carbon neutral.

But before I proceed, I should set you the context. I should tell you our story.

Bhutan is a small country in the Himalayas. We’ve been called Shangri-La, even the last Shangri-La. But let me tell you right off the bat, we are not Shangri-La. My country is not one big monastery populated with happy monks. The reality is that there are barely 700,000 of us sandwiched between two of the most populated countries on earth: China and India. The reality is that we are a small, underdeveloped country doing our best to survive. But we are doing OK. We are surviving.

In fact, we are thriving, and the reason we are thriving is because we’ve been blessed with extraordinary kings. Our enlightened monarchs have worked tirelessly to develop our country, balancing economic growth carefully with social development, environmental sustainability and cultural preservation, all within the framework of good governance. We call this holistic approach to development “Gross National Happiness,” or GNH. Back in the 1970s, our fourth king famously pronounced that for Bhutan, Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product.

Ever since, all development in Bhutan is driven by GNH, a pioneering vision that aims to improve the happiness and well-being of our people. But that’s easier said than done, especially when you are one of the smallest economies in the world. Our entire GDP is less than $2 billion. I know that some of you here are worth more individually than the entire economy of my country.

So our economy is small, but here is where it gets interesting. Education is completely free. All citizens are guaranteed free school education, and those that work hard are given free college education. Healthcare is also completely free. Medical consultation, medical treatment, medicines: they are all provided by the state. We manage this because we use our limited resources very carefully, and because we stay faithful to the core mission of GNH, which is development with values. Our economy is small, and we must strengthen it. Economic growth is important, but that economic growth must not come from undermining our unique culture or our pristine environment.

Today, our culture is flourishing. We continue to celebrate our art and architecture, food and festivals, monks and monasteries. And yes, we celebrate our national dress, too. This is why I can wear my gho with pride.

Here’s a fun fact: you’re looking at the world’s biggest pocket. It starts here, goes around the back, and comes out from inside here. In this pocket we store all manner of personal goods from phones and wallets to iPads, office files and books. But sometimes — sometimes even precious cargo.