Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan, voicing support for UN reform, said the Council must be expanded both in permanent and non-permanent membership.  “A reformed Council must include deserving nations such as India and Japan alongside other capable and leading countries to reflect today’s complex realities,” he added.  UN reform means also equipping it to “confront the defining challenge of our time — the climate crisis”.  His country has endeavoured to protect its forests and keep its rivers pristine.  It takes pride in being carbon-negative, he said, adding that every year, it sequesters over five times the carbon it emits — “a contribution far exceeding our size and resources”.

Despite these efforts, Bhutan is confronting the harsh realities of climate change, he said.  Describing mountains warming at nearly twice the global average, centuries-old glaciers shrinking at alarming rates and rivers swelling unpredictably into destructive floods during summer yet often dry in winter, he stressed:  “This is not a distant threat.  It is here.  It is now.  And it demands urgent action.”  Every country must strive to reduce emissions and aim for carbon neutrality.  Yet, global efforts remain far behind what the science demands.

He voiced regret that only four countries — Bhutan, Panama, Suriname and Madagascar — are carbon-neutral.  The G-Zero Forum, which they launched at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in November 2024, is a coalition aiming to accelerate climate ambition.  Stressing that “net-zero cannot be the finish line”, he said every nation must work urgently to slash emissions and achieve carbon neutrality.  Bhutan will share best practices and technologies and champion nature-based solutions, he said, inviting all countries and partners to join in that effort.

He noted that, according to the United Nations, over half of humanity now lives in urban areas, and by 2050 nearly 70 per cent will call cities home.  "This makes cities both the engines of innovation and the front lines of our greatest challenges — challenges like unsustainable consumption, environmental degradation and rising inequality,” he underscored.  The Gelephu Mindfulness City in Bhutan is powered by renewable energy, built with sustainable materials and designed for low-carbon living, he said, and could serve as a forerunner in rethinking urbanization.  He invited all to join the Global Peace Prayer Festival, from 4 to 17 November, which will unite spiritual masters, scholars and practitioners from across the world in a common aspiration for peace, healing and harmony.