The government is aiming major bureaucratic reforms with the introduction from the Climate Change Action and the founding of the Department of Climate Change, which will be the newest legal tool and central agency to oversee the country’s climate actions.
Speaking in the Thailand Climate Motion Conference recently, Ressortchef (umgangssprachlich) of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa presented the particular plans to tackle climate change by focusing on lowering green house gas (GHG) emissions in four target sectors and fostering climate-friendly investment within the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economy model.
Still, environmentalists mentioned the steps had been just glossy promotions that favour big business players, whilst largely ignoring the participation of civil society, local communities and smallholders.
Weather security
As human-induced global warming is definitely posing serious risks to all life in the world, the international community agreed upon a common goal to limit global temperature rises to well below 1 ) 5º Celsius compared to pre-industrial level at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Meeting (Cop21) in Paris, france.
The particular member parties from the Paris Agreement are usually obligated to cut emissions of GHG such as carbon dioxide and methane, which is the root cause of global heating.
However , with the rapid escalation of the climate crisis in recent years, the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report stressed that all nations need to accelerate their particular climate actions to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050 to keep up with the narrowing temperature stabilisation threshold at 1 . 5C.
Mr Varawut said Thailand is ready to play its part in the global effort to mitigate environment change, as the federal government has set out the goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and net-zero emissions by 2065.
Tara: Big business gets breaks
“The govt recognises the emergency of stabilising global warming at 1 ) 5C, as Asia has suffered greatly from extreme weather plus disasters caused by weather change, ” he or she said.
“Therefore, climate change is another major issue that is incorporated in the 20-year national strategy and national economic and social development program to lead the nation toward climate-friendly growth, ” he stated.
Thailand also has long-term lower greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LTLEDS) to help lead the way toward carbon neutrality and net-zero focuses on, he said.
As dealing with climate change is a complex task which involves many stakeholders, he said close collaboration between agencies, the particular private sector, plus local communities is vital.
“The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry will be designated the focal point for climate mitigation collaboration, so the ministry will open the new Department of Climate Change in order to specifically oversee work on climate change throughout sectors, ” this individual said.
“We will also possess a Climate Change Take action. This law will give you both regulatory actions, such as stricter emission standards, and motivation mechanisms, such as a co2 tax and co2 credit, to help promote a climate-friendly investment decision and voluntary carbon market, ” this individual said.
Reforestation
Apart from direct decarbonisation in energy and transport, industrial processes and product use (IPPU), waste and the agriculture sector, Mr Varawut said investing in natural carbon sinks by regrowing jungles is also important.
He declared that as we plant more trees, the co2 being absorbed simply by new green spaces can be counted like a carbon credit, which can be traded in the carbon market or utilized as a carbon counter to reduce our internet carbon emissions by deducting from the quantity of GHG that we currently release.
“The carbon offset and co2 market mechanism are beneficial tools designed for pursuing carbon neutrality, so the government can be encouraging the business industry and the people to reforest and plant a lot more trees to be carbon credits for dealing with climate change, ” he said.
Kritsada: Policy contrary
Critics’ concerns
Climate active supporters and workers are unconvinced. Thailand Country Director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Tara Buakamsri, said it is doubtful the government’s climate strategies will be a success, as many climate mitigation frameworks heavily prefer the interests associated with big business within the industrial sector, which are a major way to obtain GHG emissions, while the involvement of civil society and youngsters in climate actions is largely ignored.
“The weather action conference obviously shows civil culture has little area in the government’s climate actions, as their presence in the conference was overshadowed by large industry and power companies trying to greenwash their reputation via grand exhibitions of their vague climate-friendly improvements, ” Mr Tara said.
He said the particular carbon credit and carbon offset system is another example of the particular tactics that polluting industries use to resist the steep decarbonisation and keep “business because usual” status, because their carbon credits allow them to keep releasing GHG and pollution in to the environment.
“How can all of us pass on a safe future to the next era when our climate actions are only the greenwashing efforts from the fossil fuel sector to maintain their circumstances? ” he inquired.
Kritsada Boonchai, coordinator of Thai Climate Justice for All, said Thailand’s climate actions are contradictory, as polluting industries are damaging the environment. The federal government not only ignores problems but partners with these big corporates to deal with climate change.
“Fossil-fuel-based capitalism is the major culprit behind global warming, but the government is trying to tackle climate change with fossil-fuel-based capitalism, inch Mr Kritsada mentioned.