Copenhagen Climate Summit 18 December, 2009 -
Addressing the UN climate change conference at Copenhagen yesterday afternoon, agriculture minister, Lyonpo (Dr) Pema Gyamtsho, said the battles against climate change must be fought and won on individual turfs by every nation.
“Small countries like Bhutan, which are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, are like foot soldiers at the frontline of this war,” he said. “If the foot soldiers are to be successful, they need to be well equipped. I’d like to call on the support of rich countries to come forward with the resources necessary to put in place effective mitigation and adaptation measures.”
Lyonpo said that Bhutan, which has all along pursued strong conservation policies and taken stringent environment regulations to protect its ecosystems, is suffering the consequences of climate change and ecological degradation.
“In the past five decades since Bhutan embarked on planned development, the country has consciously sacrificed faster economic growth from exploitation of natural resources such as forests and minerals,” said minister. “This successful conservation agenda comes at a cost and has placed a huge burden on our national economy and the livelihood of our people.”
The minister also presented Bhutan’s commitment to stay a carbon neutral country. “Bhutan is already carbon neutral. And we’ve committed to remain carbon neutral because it’s not only ecologically correct, but also a morally correct decision,” he said.
The minister said that Bhutan believes that the world has acknowledged that climate change is real and is no more a subject for debate. “In my own country, we’re experiencing unusual weather patterns, such as short and dry winters, prolonged droughts in summer, flash floods, windstorms and, perhaps most serious of all, the rapid melting of glaciers and increased risks from glacial lake outburst floods,” said the minister.
He said the Bhutanese government is determined to contribute to fighting climate change and has already put in place several policies and strategic measures, which include, amongst others, the constitutional requirement to maintain 60 percent forest cover for all times.
“We hope that there’ll be substantially increased funding for climate change to help the most vulnerable countries through replenishment of the LDC fund, the SCCF and a new climate fund from Copenhagen,” said the minister. “We also look forward to a more simplified mechanism for accessing these funds, given that existing procedures are overly cumbersome and difficult.”
The minister called on the leaders to go beyond political and economic considerations in reaching a decision and take into consideration the humanitarian dimension.
“The eastern Himalayas, where my country is located, are fast becoming a hotspot of climate change from being a hotspot of biodiversity,” said the minister. “When we return home, our children and grandchildren will ask us whether we’ve sealed the deal on climate change? The answer from all of us should be a resounding ‘yes’. Anything less would be a betrayal of their trust and faith in our leadership.”
The two-week climate conference ends today.
By Tenzin Namgyel
