Flood-prone Thailand, Laos to partner on tackling climate-change issues
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa met with Laos Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh in Vientiane to discuss cooperation on climate issues on Wednesday.
Also accompanying Varawut on the trip to Lao People's Democratic Republic is ministry permanent secretary Jatuporn Buruspat.
After the meeting, Varawut said he discussed experiences and strategies in tackling problems of natural resources and the environment, with a focus on climate-change issues that both countries are facing.
Both sides also discussed cooperation to promote the Bio-Circular-Green economy or BCG Model that Thailand has initiated.
The meeting came as Thailand’s economic planning agency revealed that flooding driven by climate change has killed more than 2,000 people and cost 12.59 trillion baht over the past 30 years. Laos also suffers flood disasters on an almost annual basis and is considered highly vulnerable to climate change because of its low level of socio-economic development.
Varawut said a memo of understanding (MoU) to be signed between the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation and Laos’ Department of Climate Change will help future Thai-Laos climate operations run smoothly.
