Press Release

Lyonpo Yeshey Dorji, Minister for Agricultre and Forests  and Mr. Miguel Arias Canete, EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy signed the Declaration European Union – Kingdom of Bhutan Cooperation on Climate Change” today in L”e Bourget, Paris on the sidelines of the UNFCCC COP21.

The Declaration takes cognizance of the need for a robust framework for transparency and accountability to enable effective processes for stocktaking as to whether Parties are collectively on track to achieve the long-term goal, and strengthening Parties’ emissions reduction targets.

The Declaration recognizes Bhutan’s unique situation as a land-locked and least developed country with a fragile mountainous environment and the scale of funding requirement to address sustainable development needs including climate change mitigation and adaptation action significantly higher than presently available. It calls on the international community to support Bhutan’s efforts, as described in its INDC.

Under the Declaration, Bhutan is recognized for its leadership role and the extraordinary ambition in addressing climate change efforts and considers Bhutan’s climate change policies as exemplary.

The Declaration reflects the intent of Bhutan and the EU to intensify their cooperation on climate change, focusing on enhanced support for the implementation of Bhutan’s INDC. Importantly, the Declaration call on other Parties in a position to do so to join this effort, taking into accounts Bhutan’s extraordinary ambition.

The European Union is one of Bhutan’s close development partner and has committed € 42 million for the period 2014-2020, focusing on Civil Society/Local Authorities and Sustainable Agriculture/Forestry.  More specifically, the EU supports Bhutan in enhancing the resilience of rural households to the effects of climate change, as well as the sustainability of renewable natural resources through the Global Climate Change Alliance

Lyonpo Yeshey Dorji also discussed the state of bilateral relations including EU’s development assistance and thanked them for their continued support and cooperation.