Thailand submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 1 October 2015.[4] It pledged a 20–25 percent reduction in its emissions of greenhouse gases by 2030.[5]
Thailand sent 81 representatives, at a cost of 20 million baht, to the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21 or CMP 11) in Paris, 30 November – 11 December 2015.[6]
For Thailand, the stakes are enormous. Pledges in Paris equate to a 3 °C increase in global temperatures according to climate scientists. Negotiators in Paris struggle to bring this down to 2 °C, but even this lower number may be "... be catastrophic for Bangkok", forcing the abandonment of the city by 2200 at the latest and by 2045-2070 at the earliest.[7] In a paper published on 1 March 2016, climate researchers James Hansen and Makiko Sato state that, "The tropics...in summer are in danger of becoming practically uninhabitable by the end of the century if business-as-usual fossil fuel emissions continue,..."[8] In 2015, Bangkok averaged 29.6 °C, 1.6 °C higher than normal.[9]