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Bangkok and Chiang Mai in top 10 of the world’s dirtiest cities

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Bangkok and Chiang Mai in top 10 of the world’s dirtiest cities

It’s never been this bad and here we are again, Bangkok and Chiang Mai are choking again on smog at the beginning of the year. The Bangkok Post writes about how to solve Thailand’s air pollution problem

Last week, Thailand’s two largest cities, Bangkok and Chiang Mai, earned the infamous privilege of being among the 10 cities in the world with the worst air quality during this period. The Ministry of Health blamed air pollution for causing 200,000 hospitalizations in the past week alone.

Air pollution is one of the biggest causes of death in Thailand, more than obesity, smoking and even covids. It accounts for more than 50,000 premature deaths in 2021, cutting average life expectancy by two years. In addition, there is widespread public concern that air pollution will reduce one of the country’s main sources of income, tourism in places like Chiang Mai.

Despite these grim statistics, however, the threat of air pollution this year and the measures taken by the government resemble deja vu. During the first few months of each year, air pollution levels spike to dangerous levels and smog blankets the sky.

Every year the government responds by proclaiming a ban on wildfires (but not enforcing it properly), asking people to wear masks and stay indoors, spraying water (which does little), uselessly and wrongly blaming small farmers, and expressing grave concern about the problem.

But every year the government fails to address the root causes of the problem. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has suspended three bills related to air pollution.

There was hope that Bangkok’s recently elected governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, would do more to solve the air pollution problem, at least within Bangkok’s jurisdiction. His actions so far, however, have been limited.

The government’s actions, however, are not surprising when one looks at the platforms of all the major parties in the upcoming elections. None of them prioritizes air pollution, calls for sweeping reforms, or makes air pollution a major part of their election campaign.

According to the Thailand Development Research Institute, out of 87 major political promises, only three are related to the environment. While more data on the sources of pollution would be useful, it is clear that what the current government has been doing since 2014 (not to mention the actions of previous governments) is not working.

There are three main sources of air pollution: transportation, industry, and agriculture, and that pollution is stronger in the winter months, when there is a surge in agricultural burning and temperature inversion, resulting in less wind and rain to disperse pollutants.

The share of each of these three sources in total pollution varies from month to month and from location to location. For example, emissions from transportation and industry make up a much larger share of total emissions in Bangkok than in Chiang Mai, where agriculture accounts for the vast majority (up to 90 percent) of emissions.

The countries that have been able to reduce air pollution show us that while it is extremely difficult to solve, it is not impossible, and there are policy solutions that can reduce pollution and improve public health nationwide. So let’s look at each of the three sources.

1- Transportation: In Bangkok, vehicular emissions are high due to the presence of a large number of old cars with high levels of pollution, as well as a dramatic increase in the number of cars in recent years. To reverse these trends, the government could initiate something similar to the U.S. “cash for clunkers” program, which encourages citizens to replace old, polluting cars with newer, cleaner and more fuel-efficient ones.

A number of cities have not only allocated bus lanes, but have also replaced their vehicle fleets with new cars that run on electricity or natural gas. Both of these policies can encourage people to use public buses more. Finally, cities such as Singapore and London have been able to significantly reduce air pollution and traffic congestion by implementing congestion pricing schemes.

2. Industry: Thailand has no database to keep track of industrial emissions, despite having some 140,000 polluting factories. The head of a local NGO said, “Since there is no inventory of emissions from factories, we work blind.” Further, in 2019, the National Legislature revised the Factories Act of 1992 so that only industrial plants with more than 50 employees and more than 50 horsepower are subject to monitoring for waste discharges and pollution control measures, including air pollution.

In addition, the Department of Industrial Works under the Ministry of Industry has the power to fine large polluters, but this creates a conflict of interest because the department’s mandate is to expand industrial growth without any restrictions. Thailand needs a law that requires polluting factories to disclose their emissions, similar to the U.S. Toxics Release Inventory and the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register. This new law would make factory permits contingent on emissions reductions.

3. Agriculture: Although most of Thailand’s pollution-causing biomass burning sites are actually outside the country, a significant portion of emissions still occur within Thailand, especially from harvesting corn, sugarcane, and rice. Thai agribusinesses bear much of the responsibility for burning in neighboring countries such as Laos and Myanmar, thanks to their investments and the introduction of contract farming schemes there.

However, no information has been published about which companies are responsible for burning, and no government has ever held these agribusinesses accountable or punished them for burning. A good example that Thailand could follow is Singapore’s 2014 cross-border haze pollution law, which targets the business sector and provides fines for companies operating in neighboring countries found to have polluted Singapore’s borders with haze.

In addition, the government can insist on strict product standards, such as no sugarcane burning, and can help farmers by subsidizing the purchase of harvesters and introducing other cleaner production methods.

In general, while legislation can never be the only solution, no country that has achieved improved air quality has done so without sound air pollution policies. For example, the U.S., the U.K., and Singapore have enacted clean air laws.

Citizens’ proposed “Thai Clean Air Act” provides tools to address the underlying causes that have hitherto impeded resolution of this public health crisis.

The bill takes a rights-based approach that establishes the public’s right to clean air while creating a state duty to protect that right.

Finally, it includes economic incentives to push current major polluters to reduce emissions.

We hope that all parties will show that they truly care about people’s health and lives and will strive to adopt these policies and enact the Thai Citizens’ Clean Air Act.

Other countries have successfully improved air quality, so why shouldn’t Thailand?

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