‘Sturdy progress’ in the direction of SDGs in Thailand: A UN Resident Coordinator weblog

Gita Sabharwal spoke to UN Information forward of the SDG Summit 2023 which will get underway at UN Headquarters in New York on 18 September.

The summit marks the start of a brand new section of accelerated progress in the direction of the attaining the SDGs by 2030.  

“At any time when I meet the younger folks of Thailand, I all the time encourage them to consider the SDGs and to assume huge, as a way to reinforce the nice progress the nation is making.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand, Gita Sabharwal (left), meets the nation’s new Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin.

Whereas solely 12 per cent of SDGs are on monitor to be achieved globally by 2030, in distinction, progress in Thailand has been way more strong, particularly in comparison with many different nations in Southeast Asia.

Over 40 per cent of the symptoms are on target. A 3rd want acceleration and 1 / 4 are regressing, together with crucially SDG 13 which focuses on local weather motion, so there’s clearly extra work to do.

Within the context of Thailand, the Authorities’s coverage framework units this as a precedence consistent with the nation’s Bio-Round-Inexperienced (BCG) financial coverage agenda.

SDG 13

UN as custodian of common ideas

The UN Nation Staff in Thailand is doing its half as conveners, technical specialists and custodian of common ideas to speed up these SDGs requiring consideration.

All 21 UN businesses are bringing science-based options, digitization, and built-in coverage recommendation to a variety of tasks throughout the nation.

Among the many three key areas that we prioritize aligned to the nation’s Nationwide Technique – the 13 NESDP – is our help to the nation’s transition to a inexperienced, inclusive, and low carbon economic system.

For instance, the UN Surroundings Programme (UNEP) is aiding the Authorities in quantifying positive factors if the nation switches to natural rice manufacturing, which can improve biodiversity in paddy fields, decrease emissions, cut back pesticides whereas sustaining yields. 

Evaluation exhibits that rising the cultivated space of natural rice by 10 per cent might generate advantages of over $400 million over 15 years.

The Meals and Agriculture Group (FAO) and the Worldwide Commerce Centre (ITC) additionally help sustainable agriculture, which immediately impacts the lives and livelihoods of 12 million farmers, together with amassing geospatial knowledge to generate agriculture statistics, utilizing drones for knowledge and crop mapping.

UNESCO helps inclusivity by way of training, local weather motion, and biosphere safety. Along with the journey firm Expedia, it additionally secured commitments from over 1,300 giant and medium-sized lodges to eradicate single use plastics and help marine conservation by way of the Sustainable Journey Pledge.

The UN Improvement Programme (UNDP) is adopting a bottom-up strategy by supporting biodiversity-based tourism on the group stage to cut back threats from unsustainable tourism and create native livelihoods. It additionally helps the federal government in creating sustainable power insurance policies and increasing entry to renewable power sources.

I’m significantly happy with UN’s partnership with the Ministry of Inside on waste segregation. Some 14 million households are a part of this initiative which can yield 550,000 tons of carbon emissions reductions. The primary tranche of carbon credit ($21,000) that accrued have been purchased by a non-public financial institution. 

This is a vital facet of the SDGs localization settlement during which all the nation’s 77 provinces signed as much as a dedication to forge a rustic based mostly on sound sustainability ideas.

The UN in Thailand is supporting sustainable agriculture, together with within the fisheries sector.

Shared duty 

The UN in Thailand has additionally been working intently with the personal sector, facilitating its dedication to attaining carbon neutrality by 2050.

Among the many UN businesses working with companies are IOM, UNHCR, UNICEF, and UN Ladies, advocating to place these most weak – migrants, ladies, kids and younger folks – first of their sustainability plans, budgets, and actions in the direction of a inexperienced transition.

This implies we’re backing companies to rework and make investments responsibly, not solely in biodiversity conservation, but in addition in the direction of safety of their employees’ rights and deal with their grievances consistent with the federal government’s Nationwide Motion Plan.

Additionally, in what I consider is a worldwide first, the World Compact Community in Thailand (GCNT), with which the UN companions, has dedicated to serving to shield 30 per cent of land and marine areas nationwide, together with reforestation efforts to spice up wildlife habitats and create new carbon sinks.

The Thai capital, Bangkok. Thailand is making strong progress in the direction of the SDGs.

Final yr additionally they diminished emissions amounting to eight million tonnes of carbon, which is equal to 1.6 million vehicles being taken off the roads.

Equally vital for sustainable growth is the position of bankers, traders, and asset managers. They should take centre stage in unlocking home financing for the nation’s bio-circular inexperienced transition.

Scaling up investments

Importantly, inexperienced investments usually are not solely useful for the setting, however additionally they impression backside traces positively within the medium to long run.

I’ve visited metal and aluminum crops simply outdoors Bangkok to get a way of how the personal sector in Thailand with the help of the Authorities and the UN is selling sustainable enterprise practices and inspiring company social duty.

UN Resident Coordinator Gita Sabharwal (left) visits an aluminum-processing manufacturing facility.

I noticed how investments in clear applied sciences within the metal, aluminum and lead industries are advancing the inexperienced transformation by supporting decarbonization efforts.

Capital markets are key to those investments and can play a major position in reworking the economic system and driving sustainable development in Thailand.  

Entire of society strategy 

It’s clear that the push in the direction of attaining the SDGs in Thailand requires all sections of Thai society to work collectively in the direction of the widespread objective of reaching the formidable targets of the 17 objectives.

This “complete of society” strategy will succeed if all events – authorities, companies, banks, communities, younger folks, civil society – are forward-leaning of their sustainability commitments.

Because the UN, we’re dedicated to delivering high-impact outcomes with these companions whereas guaranteeing nobody is left behind.

We now know the options, however the years forward will demand a lot stronger management—from the capital, the provinces to the distant villages throughout the nation.

 The a number of crises impacting us means we should elevate the bar even larger, stepping up our sport to ship for many who want it most within the subsequent 7 years.

 As the UN Secretary-Basic says, ‘that is no time for complacency.’”