The cabinet will endorse the country's first strategic plan to combat climate change later this month, Science and Technology Minister Yongyuth Yuthavong said yesterday. The five-year plan will cover six areas and include promoting public awareness of climate change, research and preventive measures to reduce its impact. Mr Yongyuth, who oversees the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, said the completed plan would be ready for the new government to implement, or change if need be. 'No government can afford to ignore the problem of climate change. It should urgently spell out effective measures to deal with it,' Mr Yongyuth said. Thailand, which was ranked 22nd among the world's top carbon dioxide emitters, was likely to s

like people are starting to get the message that this govenment is not so clued in to what climate change is all about.

Nation Editorial December 20, 2007

Thailand must get up to speed on climate-change talks and develop a coherent policy to mitigate effects

After almost two weeks of talks at the UN Climate Change Summit in Bali, trying to shape a new global accord that will supersede the Kyoto Protocol, representatives of 187 nations came up with a disappointing four-page Bali declaration. As expected, European countries sought a binding commitment on reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 36 industriali