Bangkok and Yokohama launch collaboration to reduce carbon emissions
The Thai and Japanese public and private sectors took part in a city-to-city collaboration meeting on Friday ( June 21) between Bangkok and Yokohama to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt presided over and participated in the opening ceremony of the 4th Workshop on “Net Zero Emissions Business Opportunity under the Bangkok-Yokohama City-to-City Program”.
Attendees included Yutaka Matsuzawa, Japan’s deputy minister of the environment; Otaka Masato, Japan’s ambassador to Thailand; Takeharu Yamanaka, the mayor of Yokohama, along with Yokohama city officials, experts, and representatives from the public and private sectors of both Thailand and Japan.
Chadchart welcomed the participants and expressed his pleasure at the opportunity to discuss the collaboration between Bangkok and Yokohama, highlighting the long-standing relationship between the two cities.
This collaboration involves various stakeholders, including public and private sectors, international organisations, and the general public, enhancing efforts to address greenhouse gas reduction and climate change adaptation in multiple dimensions.
Currently, Bangkok has an energy action plan under its Climate Change Master Plan for 2021-2030, focusing on reducing carbon emissions in the transport and energy sectors.
Recognising that Bangkok is a significant carbon emitter, the city administration has initiated actions within its organisation, such as calculating greenhouse gas emissions from various activities.
Crucially, achieving comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction requires the cooperation of the public, and as a government entity, Bangkok must support private enterprises, including over 3 million small and medium-sized enterprises, in gaining knowledge about greenhouse gas reduction and becoming prepared for the global green business landscape, the Bangkok governor said.
Chadchart and Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka jointly concluded that the cooperation between Bangkok and Yokohama would strengthen and expand to cover various dimensions, aiming for both cities to achieve net zero status and serve as a model for the Asia region.
The calculation of greenhouse gas emissions, or the development of Bangkok's carbon footprint, aims to use the gathered data to establish measures or implement greenhouse gas reduction projects under the policy "Controllable Carbon, Carbon-Free Bangkok".
For instance, initiatives include converting waste collection vehicles to electric vehicles, replacing BRT buses with electric ones, and enhancing connectivity with the rail system to promote more use of public transportation.
Additionally, the city is supporting the installation of solar panels for residents and implementing waste separation projects to reduce waste management costs and methane emissions, such as the "Separate Waste, Save Money" project, which encourages waste sorting among residents.
