THAILAND
|
THAILAND (Southeast Asia) |
|||||
|
CO2 Emissions p.capita (tonnes) UN |
World Ranking CO2 Emissions (p.capita) UN |
EPI World Ranking Climate Change |
TI World Ranking Corruption |
TI Asia Ranking Corruption |
Ratified Kyoto Protocol (year) |
|
4.28 |
128 |
81 |
80 |
10 |
2002 |
|
Compiled by Green Assembly. Data sourced from the UN,Transparency International,and EPI |
Thailand’s CO2 emissions per capita have increased by about 30 percent since the Millennium Development Goals were set by the UN in year 2000, according to IUCN figures announced in September 2008.
This is an appalling record and puts Thailand 128 in the world rankings for CO2 emissions. Despite this, the country still continues to support the development of coal-fired power plants, pulp production, cement manufacturing, paper and steel production and oil-palm cultivation.
The country has also done very little to discourage the use of high performance gas-guzzling automobiles, with the result that there is a high percentage of four-wheel drive vehicles in the metropolis.
There is not very much left to “deforest”, nevertheless Thailand continues to tolerate deforestation by turning a blind eye to illegal logging and forest encroachment, often in the name of “eco” tourism.
The country also allows the importation and trans-shipment of massive amounts of timber from neighbouring countries, Burma, Laos and Cambodia.
A country as corrupt as Thailand, ranking 80 in the world and 10 in Asia, will always find it difficult to enforce the law, but a lot more could be done if politicians applied themselves more to the interests of the country (and the world), and less to their own self-interest and self-enrichment.
One result of the country’s unbridled CO2 emissions is that it makes a disproportionately large contribution towards global warming, a factor that in the long run will come back to haunt Thailand. The country is already known to be too hot for comfort - another four degrees celsius will make it intolerable and could have a devastating impact on tourism.