Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Wednesday confirmed Thailand's commitment to realising the Sustainable Development Goals at the SDG Summit 2023, saying the country has issued two sets of sustainability bonds that have raised US$12.5 billion in green and social investments at the national level.
Speaking in New York, Mr Srettha said Thailand has also launched the Thailand Green Taxonomy as a reference tool for economic activities deemed environmentally sustainable.
More than 100 companies that make up the Global Compact Network Thailand (GCNT) have pledged to invest $43 billion in SDG-related projects by 2030, he added.
Mr Srettha, who also serves as finance minister, delivered a statement at the Leaders' Dialogue 6 of the SDG Summit 2023 dubbed "Mobilizing finance and investments and the means of implementation for SDG achievement". The event took place at the Trusteeship Council Chamber at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The PM is attending the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA78) from Sept 18–24. It is his first overseas trip as the head of government, where he is due to meet with national and business leaders.
"In this decade, we need transformative actions. We need to foster effective multilateralism and a strong multilateral architecture, which will allow us to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs," Mr Srettha said.
"My government will play a proactive role on the global stage. We will reach out to our friends and partners to forge collaboration to meet these challenges," he told the forum.
The UN has dubbed this period the "Decade of Action", saying political will must go hand in hand with international solidarity.
It is also crucial for the international community to address the SDG financing gap, scale up SDG investment, find innovative sources of finance, and level the playing field regarding international financial architecture, government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said in a statement.
Thailand supports the call by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to reform this architecture, as well as his request for an annual SDG stimulus of $500 billion until 2030, Mr Chai added.
According to Mr Srettha, a more people-centred and planet-centric developmental approach is also crucially needed.
Mr Srettha said in the statement delivered to the summit that the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) conceived by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great, as well as the Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model (BCG), will help strike a balance among the economic, social, and environmental goals of the SDGs.
Thailand has made the following national commitments to achieving the SDGs, with the aim of improving people's livelihoods:
1. A pledge to leave no one behind while reaching those furthest behind first, with the aim of alleviating all households living with generational poverty from their plight by 2027.
2. A pledge to promote and protect the human rights of all persons. To promote the right to health, Thailand will adopt measures to ensure the number of households facing health impoverishment is minimised to below 0.25% by 2027.
3. A pledge to foster cooperation and partnerships at all levels in support of climate action, including ensuring access to affordable modern energy services for all by 2030.