Thailand will stick to its climate-change commitments and aim for carbon neutrality by 2050 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday.
Addressing the Thailand Climate Action Conference (TCAC), Gen Prayut, who also serves as defence minister, stressed the importance of both goals in achieving balanced, sustainable and environmentally friendly growth.
The conference was organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment under the theme of "Our Future: Our Responsibility, Our Opportunity". The two-day event at Royal Paragon Hall ends today.
Presiding over the opening ceremony, the PM underscored the government's commitment to addressing climate change and driving the country's efforts to mitigate the climate crisis.
According to Gen Prayut, it is evident that climate change is having an increasingly severe impact in all regions of the world.
Over the past decade, human activities have been the main contributor to the global average surface temperature rising by roughly 1.1C, compared to pre-industrial levels.
Gen Prayut said Thailand is not immune to the constant and unpredictable impact of climate change.
The rise in the sudden onset of events such as floods and droughts, and more slowly moving events such as sea-level rises and change in levels of precipitation, are now affecting the livelihoods of many people.
"In 2021, Thailand was ranked the world's ninth-most-affected country in regards to the long-term impacts of climate change," he said.
"This has cost our economy and society trillions of baht over the past two decades. Therefore, Thailand must make every effort to vigorously prepare for the multidimensional impacts of climate change," he added.
The PM has emphasised setting a clear direction toward sustainability for all relevant sectors in accordance with Thailand's 20-year national strategy and master plan to attain economic growth and social development in line with environmentally sound and climate-friendly principles.
He further stressed that climate change is not a distant issue but a crisis that is here now and that concerns us all.
"Every individual and every sector must work for concrete and systemic change," he added.