Move Forward vows to handle environmental woes with new ‘progressive’ policies
The policies were announced by party leader Pita Limcharoenrate at Pathum Thani’s Pak Klong-Rangsit community on Friday.
“Global warming is a major issue because it poses a danger to the stability of the modern world. It is the government’s ultimate enemy rather than just a national security issue,” he said.
With this in mind, he said, the Move Forward Party wants to declare a war on global warming with clear policies, like developing a fund for tackling flood disasters, ensuring all 77 provinces have electric public vehicles within seven years and getting solar cells for households.
The Move Forward Party has also promised to deal with other environmental issues such as waste management, coastal erosion, wild elephants as well as air and light pollution.
Pita pointed out that the government has previously claimed that it is reducing emissions in line with its commitment to the United Nation’s sustainable development goals.
However, he said, the data was improperly gathered and does not support the assessment of an international organisation that Thailand’s response to this issue is critically inadequate.
Pita said if this government policy continues, then global temperatures will rise by at least 4 degrees Celsius in the near future. He said his party’s policies aim to keep the temperature increase to a minimum or no more than 2 degrees Celsius.
Pita was delivering his speech from a podium placed in a pool of water. This was clearly inspired by the “we are sinking” speech delivered knee-deep in seawater by Tuvalu Foreign Minister Simon Kofe at COP26.
“Global warming is closer than we think and directly affects people with problems such as more severe and frequent flooding,” Pita said.
Citing the fast-changing flood patterns in Pathum Thani itself, he said previously the province only saw floods two or three times a year. Now, he said, the area is flooded five to six times annually. Also, in 2006 about 10 million rai (1.6 million hectares) in Pathum Thani used to be underwater, but now floods cover almost 27 million rai, he said.
A World Bank report covering 2011-2045 says global warming will cost Thailand’s agricultural industry up to 3 trillion baht per year due to lost harvests and failing crops.
