Thailand clean air network
It is undeniable that we are now facing an air pollution crisis with particulate matter at levels exceeding limits that are deemed safe for human health. This situation is likely to deteriorate over the years. The situation of toxic air quality is not just an issue in Bangkok, but across the country, particularly in Northern Thailand where residents there have been suffering for over the past 15 years. Bangkok and Chiang Mai have taken turns for the unenviable rank as being the top city in the world for toxic air quality. The dire state of this situation may actually lead us to a state where we may well be “short of air to breathe.”
If we do not want our children and grandchildren to be brought up in an environment laced with toxic air – an invisible killer that rips away at our quality of life and that of our love ones. We can no longer wait. We must take action right now and today! We need to do something!
Unclean air is the result of human activities, be it open burning, vehicle emission, industrial pollution, etc. Does Thailand have any legislation for regulate, manage and oversee the problem of air pollution in an integrated matter? The answer is no.
Thailand has a Water Resources Act. However, when it comes to air pollution which is an invisible killer that has caused over 32,000 deaths in Thailand in 2019, and reduced average life expectancy of Thais by over 2 years, Thailand does not have a Clean Air Act to regulate and manage this public health risk in a systemic and sustainable manner. The existing legislations in place are insufficient, extremely scattered and inadequate in so many other aspects, with the critical shortfall being that they do not deal with the underlying structural issue, which is the very heart of this problem.
Therefore, today we continue to face implementation issues as the responsibility to manage air pollution does not fall under the responsible of any single government body. At present, there is no one entity that is fully responsible to say regulate smoke belching vehicles on the road. Furthermore, approvals for building construction are being undertaken without taking into account environmental considerations. Industrial emissions remain a massive problem. This is because of the lack of emission inventory that includes emissions of toxic pollutants being discharged from industrial factories into the atmosphere.
As such, the duty to manage “clean air” for us all is viewed as a hot potato that gets tossed from one governmental agency to another, without there being a single governmental body wanting to take full responsibility for this role. The only way to help resolve the air pollution crisis and to enable Thais have to clean air to breathe is that we need to support a Clean Air Act for Thailand.
The Thailand Clean Air Network (or Thailand CAN) is formed by academics and professionals with cross-disciplinary backgrounds that include medical doctors, air pollution specialists, economists, environmental lawyers, mass communication experts, amongst others. Thailand CAN also includes social activists, strategic partners, as well as, ordinary citizens of all walks who have joined us in volunteering for this cause. Our joint efforts have led to the development of Clean Air Act for Health. This draft legislation includes implementation measures that are integrated for every governmental entity. In other words, when fully implemented, this legislation will guarantee that we will have clean air to breathe every single day. The full name of this draft legislation is the “Act to Regulate the Integrated Management of Clean Air for Health B.E. …”
Thailand CAN has developed this short video that explains concisely the key features of this draft legislation https://www.
However, this draft legislation must still be deliberated and then promulgated into law. This is possible! Whether it happens or not, it is entirely up to each and every one of us. Thailand CAN has received over 26,000 signatories from Thai citizens in support of this draft Clean Air Act. This is above the required number needed to submit this draft legislation to Parliament, which took place on 21 January, 2022. However, this level of public support is not enough to ensure that this draft legislation will not be rejected by the Prime Minister even before it is deliberated in Parliament.
Previous draft legislations submitted of similar manner have been rejected by the Prime Minister without any reasons cited. Therefore, we need a groundswell of public support. Thailand has almost 70 million people who all need to breathe clean air. However, most of whom have not showed up to exercise their right to protect their right to breathe clean air, which is inherently simply the very right to life itself.
We only ask that you please consider supporting this petition Change.org/CleanAirActTH and please tell as many of your friends and family to do the same by posting on your social media channels using the hashtags #DoNotRejectThaiCleanAirAct #ThailandCAN. You have a critical role to help support and ensure that this draft Clean Air Act will not be thoughtlessly rejected.
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