A Call for Action
In May 2007, Bangkok’s Governor Apirak Kosayodhin announced that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) would sign the Bangkok Declaration on Mitigation of Climate Change with 23 public and private organizations. The government recognized Thailand’s, and especially the capital city’s, contribution to global warming and “set a target of delivering 8 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2011 and a target of 35 percent in 2020.”
Bangkok’s per capita CO2 emissions, at 7.1 tons per capita, are higher than those of other major cities, such as London and Tokyo (5.9 and 5.7 tons, respectively). 84% of Bangkok’s greenhouse gas emissions are from energy use and transportation; 3% are from methane emissions from landfills and wastewater. Since the signing of the Bangkok Declaration, the city has enjoyed various campaigns promoting compact fluorescent bulbs, garbage reduction, the use of cloth bags instead of plastic, and planting trees on the Queen’s birthday.