BANGKOK, 30 March 2008 (IRIN) - Extreme weather conditions, rising sea levels and health problems potentially related to environmental pollution have prompted Thailand's new government to draft a plan that will require major industrial companies to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 15-20 percent.

The plan, which should be completed in the next few months but still lacks a firm timeline for implementation, focuses on power producers, refineries, petrochemical firms and transportation companies, said Tawarath Sutabutr, director of the Energy Ministry's policy and strategy coordination office.

"There is a new emphasis on reducing emissions as global warming has become a major issue," Tarawath said. "We must step up our energy efficiency to the top tier."

Growing concerns over the adverse effects of climate change in Thailand have prompted the government and private sector in this middle-income, manufacturing-based country to beef up efforts to reduce emissions. But environmental activists, including Greenpeace and other local groups, say the government can do more to mandate stricter environmental standards.

Thailand is the seventh largest emitter of carbon dioxide in Asia, emitting 4.2 tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere per person per year, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) - more than in both China (3.8 tonnes) and India (1.2 tonnes).

Tougher stance

The first major efforts to restrict emissions after decades of industrialisation occurred last year when the government took a tougher line on new petrochemical projects in one of the country's largest industrial estates, Map Ta Phut, in Rayong Province.

The investments were given the green light only after the country's two major petrochemical players - PTT and Siam Cement - agreed to make drastic cuts in nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions, as well as reduce the level of volatile organic compounds that were feared to cause cancer among local villagers.

Even so, environmentalists said the country's Power Development Plan drafted last year did not go far enough to reduce emissions from power plants. The Thai chapter of Greenpeace has argued that the Energy Ministry overestimates the country's power demand, disregards more efficient technology like co-generation power plants, and has failed to mandate energy-saving techniques.

Besides trying to reduce emissions, Thai efforts to prepare for the real consequences of climate change are still in their infancy. Researchers say extreme weather and changing rainfall patterns pose the greatest risk, as more than half of its workforce is still employed in agriculture.

"Farmers in Laos may be better equipped to handle extreme weather than in Thailand, as here we have depleted our resources and pushed everything to the edge so there is no room to step back," Anond Snidvongs, a leading climate change scientist in Thailand, told IRIN.

Bangkok sinking as oceans rise

Thailand is also concerned about rising sea levels. Bangkok, home to nearly 15 percent of the country's 66 million people, is at risk of being deluged with water in the coming decades as the world's oceans swell.

The city sits 1-1.5 metres above sea level, but is also sinking at a rate of about 10cm per year as the heavy buildings continue to compress the swampy soil that forms its foundation, Anond said.

The problem now for Thailand is getting people to take action. While the government can mandate stricter emissions standards, implement energy conservation measures and find ways to prepare for higher sea levels, it is more difficult to encourage rural farmers to break with traditions that have held for years to face a threat that might still be decades away.

"Farmers should save water at their farms and diversify crops so they don't just rely on one crop," said Anond. "They need to develop mechanisms at the household and community levels to be able to cope in the case of extreme weather like droughts or flooding. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but farmers need to start thinking of these things."

"Farmers still operate under the assumption that they don't need to change because the weather will probably not change next year," Anond said. "We need to find a better way to communicate risk to them so they can start to change their habits."

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