Forget net-zero: meet the small-nation, carbon-negative club

GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOM -

The heavily forested Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan -- which measures its success in "Gross National Happiness" -- hasn't made a net-zero pledge, like a growing number of nations.

That's because it is already "carbon-negative," absorbing more climate-changing emissions each year than it produces.

The forests of the thinly populated country of less than a million people absorb more than nine million tonnes of carbon each year, while its economy, designed to reduce fossil fuel use and waste, produces less than 4 million tonnes.

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"We are showing the world what we can do if we have the political will," Sonam Wangdi, secretary of the National Environment Commission, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview at the UN climate talks in Glasgow.

A tiny but growing club of "carbon-negative" forest countries is emerging, with Suriname -- a small rainforest country north of Brazil -- already a member and Panama expected to be certified later this year.

What they have in common is strong protection of their carbon-absorbing forests alongside increasingly tough measures to hold down climate-changing emissions, including efforts to adopt renewable energy, electrify transport and cut waste.

🟢 Need some good news about climate change?

Bhutan 🇧🇹, Suriname 🇸🇷 and Panama 🇵🇦 are now all carbon-negative, meaning they absorb more emissions each year than they produce.

🌎 While much of the world scrambles to reach net-zero, what's their secret? 🧵 pic.twitter.com/W4gnamU1oK

— TRF Climate (@TRF_Climate) November 4, 2021

At COP26, they formed a formal alliance, signing a declaration calling for international finance, preferential trade, carbon pricing and other measures to support their economies and other "carbon-negative" nations yet to emerge.

"We are taking the first step. What is the world doing for us? We're looking for support," said Albert Ramdin, Suriname's foreign minister, at the signing.

"What these three countries have achieved has been based on national efforts and national sacrifice," he added.

🇧🇹 Bhutan

👑 The country's carbon-negative journey started in the 1970s when its former king rejected plans to cut forests for farms and industry, says @LDCChairUNFCCC Sonam Wangdi.

🌳 Instead, he pushed for an economy built in part on managing forests sustainably. pic.twitter.com/XV6sUu7wPH

— TRF Climate (@TRF_Climate) November 4, 2021

Wangdi said Bhutan's "carbon-negative" path began in the 1970s, when its then-king rejected plans to grow economically by cutting forests to make way for farms and industry.

Instead, the king pushed for an economy built in part on sustainable forest management, with a focus on balancing conservation and development, Wangdi said.

That has ultimately helped the tiny, landlocked kingdom protect its environment while cutting its poverty rate from 36% in 2007 to 12% in 2017, according to the World Bank, though the pandemic has recently pushed the rate up slightly.

"We don't extract as much, we reuse, we recycle. It’s an effort not just by government but by everyone," Wangdi said.

Bhutan's laws require the government to maintain at least 60% forest cover; currently trees cover 72-73% of the land.

🇵🇦 Panama

🍃63% of Panama is forests. It has some of the highest cover of any Central American country

It will be carbon-negative certified later this year

💰Foreign minister @ErikaMouynes said channeling more economic benefits to countries to help them protect trees is vital pic.twitter.com/2daEjlwM16

— TRF Climate (@TRF_Climate) November 4, 2021

Erika Mounes, Panama's foreign minister, said channeling economic benefits to nations that protect their forests is key to expanding the "carbon-negative" club and helping drive global efforts to cut climate-changing emissions.

"Being carbon-negative has a cost. There's surveillance -- when you have a protected area you have to make sure it's actually protected," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Educating citizens about protecting nature is also crucial, she said, since "they are the actual forest-keepers."

Panama now hopes to share what it has learned on its path to being certified carbon-negative by the U.N. climate secretariat, including lessons from its indigenous forest communities.

"If we’re able to do it, then many more can do it."

🇸🇷 Suriname

🟢 The country has stated as far back as 2014 that it is carbon negative.

🌳 Dense forests cover large areas of the South American country, which acts as a massive carbon sink.

🌱 Much of its rainforest is also still in pristine condition. pic.twitter.com/HjPZ8EQCaC

— TRF Climate (@TRF_Climate) November 4, 2021