Bhutan’s forests absorbed 9.4 million tonnes (MT) of carbon dioxide and emitted 3.8 MT of the poisonous gas, resulting in net negative emissions of 5.6MT of CO2 in 2015, according to the third national greenhouse gas inventory.

However, an official with National Environment Commission (NEC), Tshering Yangzom, said modeling studies showed a moderate rise in emission level (6.25 MT CO2e by 2046 and 6.43 MT CO2e by 2050) in the case of a medium GDP growth rate of 4 percent.

“There are emission high reduction potentials in waste, livestock, and basic metals,” she said during a virtual consultation with development partners and relevant agencies on Bhutan’s low emission development strategies (LEDS).

Without mitigation activities, Tshering Yangzom said the emission level would rise while the forest sink capacity would be just 3.6 MtCO2e, which would put the country’s carbon-neutral status at risk.