Thai PBS recently heard from seven political parties about their diverse environmental plans for Bangkok and the rest of the nation.
According to Palang Pracharath Party professor Dr. Narumon Pinyosinwat, environmental policies are an integral aspect of their “security” plans, which also include plans for the security of food, energy, and lifestyle. This is because every policy must consider how it will affect the environment.
According to Dr. Narumon, there are numerous environmental issues in Bangkok, including water and air pollution, flooding, and rubbish. A master plan is required to handle each issue at its source.
She cited PM2.5 pollution as an example and claimed that replacing internal combustion engines with electric vehicles (EVs) could help with the issue. Although there are additional variables that contribute to air pollution, including as industry and consumer behavior, it cannot be completely eliminated by simply switching to EVs.
The Move Forward Party’s Dr. Decharut Sukkumnoed emphasized the lack of early warning systems or their inadequacy for natural calamities like flooding, droughts, and even air pollution.
According to him, local administrative organizations should receive more financing so they may be better equipped with tools, information, and connections to the early warning system so they can educate the public.
Dr. Detrat cited the recent flooding in Bangkok, Pathum Thani, and Nonthaburi as evidence that these regions require early warning systems.
However, Sorathep Rojpotjanaruch of the Thai Sang Thai Party claimed that a redesign of the city planning framework, which would divide it into smaller regional district plans, might be used to address the PM2.5, flooding, and waste problems in Bangkok. This would make it simpler to control environmental issues.
He acknowledged that it could be challenging to redesign Bangkok’s whole infrastructure because some of its infrastructure, like Chinatown, had long before been built according to plans.
In order to focus resources to priority zones to address environmental problems, such as areas with excessive traffic or a concentration of factories, he noted that the first thing to do is change the zoning laws.
Leader of the Chartthaipattana Party Varawut Silpa-archa stated that the rubbish issue must be addressed first because it also contributes to water pollution.
According to him, all families in Bangkok must separate their plastic waste before it is disposed of, and plastic waste must be used less frequently and recycled.
To lessen reliance on private automobiles, he suggested expanding the use of electric vehicles (EVs) as well as public transportation, along with harsher penalties for cars that emit too much pollution from their exhaust.
Although Varawut acknowledged that changing people’s attitudes toward their environmental responsibilities will be difficult, he also foresaw that environmental problems will only get worse and become irreversible in the future.
Dr. Plodprasop Suraswadi, a member of the Pheu Thai Party, said that they had created action plans to address many environmental issues, including air pollution, rubbish reduction, marine pollution, and environmental sustainability.
He emphasized that waste must be recycled as much as possible while also pointing out that there are over 2,000 landfills around the nation.
He advocated changes to environmental legislation to allow environmental regulators more authority to address the issues, saying that the green action plan entails planting more trees to enhance the amount of green space in Bangkok and elsewhere.
According to him, when there is a gas leak at a factory, Pollution Control Department representatives cannot visit the facility without the owner’s prior consent.
The Democratic Party’s Dr. Samart Ratchapolsitte stated that the party will prioritize establishing a clean air law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to promote increased use of public transportation. He added, however, that public transportation rates must be decreased to attract more commuters to the service.
According to Dr. Pornchai Maranet of the Chartpattana Kla Party, more public input is needed for addressing environmental issues.
He mentioned the government’s calls for drivers to switch to electric vehicles (EVs) without providing any answers as to what drivers will do with their current vehicles, without knowing what EV insurance costs will be, or the high price of EV batteries.
