Climate Change is a change in the average weather in an area (Average Weather) which is a direct or indirect result of humans. The results of Climate Change lead to many major problems such as natural disasters, unusually high or low temperatures, heavy rain, drought, severe storms, etc.
From the We shift World change program, we adjust the world to change. The special episode of SDGs talk in this episode will talk about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) number 13, Climate Action , dealing with climate change, which means building immunity for people in the country to be ready for climate variability and also includes helping to prevent the increase in global temperature from exceeding 2 degrees Celsius.
In this topic, we will hear the views of 3 guest speakers:
- Dr. Phongwipa Loesomboon, Deputy Director of the Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (Public Organization)
- Mr. Dan Pathomwanich, Chief Executive Officer, MR Instant Produce Public Company Limited or NRF
- Ms. Cherry Khemupsorn Sirisukha, Co-Founder of little big green, actress and social and environmental activist.
The three guest speakers will help us understand and see the perspectives and movements of the government, private sector, and citizens regarding SDG 13.
What is Climate Action?
At present, every country in the world is affected by Climate Action or climate change so severely that it cannot be measured in monetary terms. The cause comes from common issues that we must have experienced at some point, such as “global warming”, “greenhouse gases” and “carbon”. Even though we know that these are problems, our world continues to emit more greenhouse gases, whether it be from exhaust fumes, wasteful energy use, fuel combustion, or various industrial plants, etc.
“Tsunami, storm, earthquake, melting ice caps, these are just examples.”
How does Climate Action affect the current situation?
If you get outside, you will definitely know that this summer is very different from a few years ago. Dr. Pongwipa said that right now our world is plus or minus 8 degrees Celsius due to burning garbage, revolutionizing industrial factories, and very shocking information: try to imagine there are more than 49 billion black balls floating above our world right now, with Thailand itself releasing more than 350 million of those balls, which are greenhouse gases.
Mr. Dan, who runs a food industry business, revealed that even though we don’t own a business or have an industrial plant that emits black smoke, the food we eat every day contributes to over 40% of all carbon emissions. Therefore, we can’t say that we are not involved in these carbon emissions.
“From the river to the parched land, I have never seen anything like this before in my life. It’s like a bell ringing, something needs to be done.”
From the perspective of the general public, if they do not study carefully, they will certainly not know about the suffering that is occurring. Ms. Cherry herself began to be interested in these matters because she traveled and saw nature and the environment changing. And when we are interested, the more information we search for, the more information we consume, the more we find the truth that is not far away. It may just be your rice field or garden in front of your house that is drier than last year because it did not rain and the water in the canal is too dry to pump for farming.
Thailand is currently ranked 8th in the world for the highest risk of climate action impacts.
Our country has a lot of coastlines, so there is a high risk of water rising due to climate variability. This is one of the first things that investors will look for when looking for a place to invest, which may cause Thailand to lose the opportunity to attract investors to invest within the country.
In Dan’s view, as a private sector member, he sees that general industrial factories still do not see the picture and are not aware of the impacts from their business operations. If the food industry continues in the same direction, in the next 100 years, the world’s temperature will increase by another 3 degrees Celsius, causing water shortages, the food system of people on Earth to collapse, and people will eventually starve to death from food shortages.
“The more you see, the more you understand, it will transform your personal mission into a company mission.”
This is why your factory Dan is very aware and trying to help with its carbon footprint, and your company Dan has joined the Business ambition for 1.5˚C project, which has a goal of achieving Zero net emissions and being the only carbon neutral company, meaning that there are no additional greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere from the business operations.
Solving problems now and into the future
In the government sector, Dr. Phongwipa revealed that Thailand is one of the countries that has made a promise to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a target of reducing by 20% or 21 million tons by 2030. There is also a 20-year national strategic plan, which is a plan to reduce the use of fossil energy such as oil and coal, by turning to renewable energy and planting trees to absorb greenhouse gases.
“Because it is impossible to stop releasing greenhouse gases, we must reduce them with technology and trees.”
This idea is in line with the operations of Dan’s factory, because Dan’s factory, which deals with the food industry, does not tell everyone to stop eating to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but rather tells everyone to eat well.
Your factory Dan itself is responsible for producing alternative foods, for example alternative proteins, which many people may understand as being like vegetarian food, which uses tofu and flour to make it look like meat. But Dan explained that in reality, alternative proteins come from plants, cultivated animal cells, and insects, and currently taste 90% similar to real meat.
“Alternative protein burgers emit 1:10 less carbon than real meat burgers.”
In addition, the public is not just sitting idly by and waiting for the government and private sectors to handle it. Because Ms. Cherry herself has turned to be a driver in this matter. She has seen the problem and tried to see the solution of what the public can do. Ms. Cherry has a Little Forest project to plant trees to support and take responsibility for taking care of it for 3 years. She has invited people living in the surrounding areas to join this project. It creates a bond between the people in the area and the forest. They will help keep an eye out for each other. And not only taking care of the forest, the people in the area are also taken care of and benefit from the forest without encroaching or taking advantage of the forest area.
“It’s not that the forest survives, but people starve to death. We have to find a middle ground.”
Dr. Pongwipa also added that helping to reduce greenhouse gases, such as installing solar cells like your factory, Dan, or helping to plant trees like Cherry, can be exchanged for “carbon credits.” There is trading or a carbon credit market that helps reduce the cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the industry, and the resulting carbon credits can be sold to factories with high costs, resulting in a reduction in the overall amount of greenhouse gases according to the set target at a lower average cost. In addition, evidence of trading can also be used to reduce taxes.
Communication is something that anyone can do.
No matter what your role is, everyone can play a part in reducing greenhouse gases. Just start with yourself and spread the word. Cherry decided to film a Vlog and promote it on YouTube about her lifestyle that reduces greenhouse gas emissions: eating, living, traveling, shopping. When she started and spreading the word, it led to people following suit, creating a trend that affected the private sector, which changed with consumers. If supporting factories that are aware of greenhouse gases became a trend, most factories would start to adapt to become popular. If the government has a policy to support these actions, then there will be a change.
Conclusion
From all three perspectives, it can be seen that no matter who you are, global warming is really heating you. The impacts of Climate Action are seen in the past, are currently happening, and are predicted to happen in the future. It is time for all of us to join hands to help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It may start from the moment you wake up. What you pick up, what you do, what you eat. All of these things can help. Adjust a little bit until it becomes your own lifestyle. Don’t let it be just awareness, but not panic. Environmental problems are not just the problems of the government, private sector, or any one person. They are everyone’s problems. Therefore, “everything starts with yourself.”
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“We Shift…World Change” program
Episode “Ask Directly About Climate Change”
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