Time to take climate action

Thailand was barely seen but not heard at the just-concluded climate change conference, attended by more than 30,000 people.

The 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN climate change framework (COP24) has ended. With a certain direct sense of irony, it was held in Katowice, Poland, the centre of coal production in eastern Europe. The achievements of the two weeks of meetings, extended past its deadline as usual, are still being assessed. Many key decisions were put off for yet another huge COP, already scheduled to begin in 11 months.

Thailand's participation at COP24 was notable mostly for its invisibility. This has been true on the subject of climate change from the start. This is somewhat shocking for a country like Thailand, which has a fairly high international profile. Yet, it is virtually impossible even to find basic information on the subject in Thai, let alone what steps the government is taking. This is almost as true today as it was during the seminal 1997 climate conference in Kyoto.

In the past few years, the government has done better. But almost every step it has taken has been reluctant, adopted more under peer pressure than out of responsible concern. At present, there is an officially stated Thai policy and commitment to reduce the output of greenhouse gases (GHG) by 20% by 2030. Also at present, there are actual results showing that the output of greenhouse gases continues to increase, with little official enthusiasm to start the reversal that is mandated to be completed within 10 years.

It also is pitiful that while the country has numerous people who are expert and enthusiastic about the matter, the government has provided almost no backing or national encouragement. The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (Onep) deserves better. Onep and its climate-change division labour on means and methods of reducing GHG output.

Government, however, spends its main focus on just how to convince or coerce people to open three new coal-fired generation plants. The main goals of increasing the use of alternative energy barely creep, while widening the production of offshore gas fields and onshore pipeline-pumping occupies the cabinet and media alike.

The climate has no borders, and Thailand is as vulnerable to global warming as the rest of the planet. It is factually known that a warmer climate will increase drought and floods with more extreme weather, more often. There is no doubt that sea levels will rise, and whether it is 5cm or 50cm, Thai shores will erode, seawater will invade and Bangkok itself will sink more quickly.

In this regard, it was extremely encouraging to see Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and government re-focus efforts on water management earlier this month. This is an area which realistically will both adapt to climate change, while working to reduce GHG output. It should become the centrepiece of a new, if belated government policy to adopt goals, set standards and invite the 70 million Thai people to participate in realistic conservation and alternative-energy programmes at every level.

It should also be noted that the United Nations is remiss as well.

The 24th conference of the parties at Katowice, as always, included tens of thousands of officially designated participants. Even realising that close to 100 government ministers or senior officials were present, this is overkill on a mass scale.

The real winner of the conference was the Katowice tourist industry. The 28,141 official participants who do not live in Katowice emitted -- these are official UN figures by conference experts -- 55,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), enough to power a Thai city of 25,000 homes with 75,000 people for a year. This figure does not include getting conference-goers to and from Katowice, with air travel the dirtiest part.

The heavy GHG emissions during COP24 may bring into question about the honesty of the UN body in combating climate change. Worse there lacks firm commitment by countries to reach emissions cut targets by 2020. Climate change impact is harsh and real. The world has no other choices but tackling it in full force.