A Unified Front
From the tippy top of Thailand’s most wealthy, to the very bottom and foundation of Thai culture, the monks, environmentalism is spreading faster than Covid. Even though Thailand is still considered developing country, they are making giant strides the rest of world should take note of, (wordpopulationreview.com).
Forward Thinking
The senior executive vice president of PTT (Petroleum Authority of Thailand) Arawadee Photisaro, said, “Climate change will force more urgent policies and measures for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which will hurt demand for fossil fuels.” Kudos! For a gas company that sustains 10% of the entire nation’s economic output to shift its goals and plan economically for its people is phenomenal. According to Bloomberg Green, “PTT and its units are joining the ranks of major global oil companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and Eni SpA that are ramping up investment in clean energy as investor pressure mounts to ditch traditional fossil-fuel businesses.” Is this savvy business or nationwide?
Money is no longer the sought-after GREEN
Even though travel and tourism account for 21.9% of the country’s GDP, Thailand has band sunscreen tourists generally use while on their beaches. While this might not seem like a big deal, Thailand’s beaches are among the top 12 most visited in the world, (rd.com 8/02/2021). “The Thai Department of Conservation said four ingredients commonly found in sun creams were shown to destroy coral larvae, obstruct coral reproduction and cause reef bleaching,” (bbc.com). If the global population’s consumption and use of toxic products for the environment are limited for the top 12 most visited beaches, that an enormous amount of mitigated chemicals.
Striking Gold
Thailand’s caught the vision and gone straight to the root of the problem—money! Thailand’s secret is revealed. “It is increasingly recognized that the finance and banking sectors can have a huge influence on the economy, through the way that they decide to invest, and fund businesses,” (https://news.un.org/en/story). Srikanya Yathip, General Secretary of Thailand’s Government Pension Fund, said of the country’s aim, “[W]e believe that our investment decisions can have a transformational effect. If we can rebuild our world sustainably, there will no longer be a need to protect the environment or society.” Can you imagine a world in which we don’t talk or worry about saving the environment?
“It is our collective and individual responsibility…to preserve and tend to the world in which we all live.”
Dalai Lama
Unity At Its Finest
Kattiya Indaravijaya, CEO of Kasikorbank, echoed the Thailand’s solidarity, “Moving to net zero is very important, and we’ve seen nations and organizations committing to reaching the goal within the next 30 years. That means that everyone knows that it’s important, but it will take time and a lot of effort to get there.” As America slowly enters the green movement, gas prices rise, and the number one complaint that echoes in the air is, “Gas is too expensive.” It no longer is enough to think of what’s in our pockets today, we must plan for tomorrow. We must unite as a nation and as a world. “Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man,” Steward Udall. Seriously, if a third world country can shift their economy to forward dividends to save the world, can we not also?
