In Thailand, yet another severe episode of air pollution has caught up with political parties campaigning for Sunday’s legislative elections, forced to develop their ideas to combat this major public health problem for the kingdom.
Between February and April, in the middle of the dry season, residents suffocated for long weeks under toxic air, especially in northern cities and Bangkok, causing several million hospital visits for respiratory problems.
In question, the dangerous fumes from multiple forest fires, and a very widespread and yet prohibited practice: the burning of stubble by farmers.
In the capital, a small group of ecologists walks the streets heated by the concrete to meet voters who are often fatalistic.
“People are aware of the environmental problems, but they don’t expect politicians to solve them,” Phongsa Choonaem, leader and founder of the Green Party, told AFP.
But “communication is better,” he remarks, distributing large tree leaves as a leaflet.
Thailand, and Southeast Asia more broadly, is one of the regions of the world most vulnerable to climate change.
The Green Party, which won less than one percent in the 2019 legislative elections, is fielding only a handful of candidates, while 500 seats of deputies are at stake.
“Our goal is not to aim for the post of Prime Minister, but to solve the problem of the environment”, assures Mr. Phongsa.
For two-thirds of Thais, climate change is not among the priorities of political parties, according to a study published at the end of 2022.
“The issue of pollution is quite big globally, but I think the biggest problem in Thailand is not just pollution,” said Wittida Payormyong, a 36-year-old voter.
According to her, governance, the economy and inflation are more important.
“This is where the younger generation wants to make its voice heard,” she adds.
The Thai elections see a reformist camp, with Pheu Thai and Move Forward (“Go forward”), and their pro-army conservative opponents, embodied by the outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who arrived in power in 2014 following a coup.
In opposition, the most radical party, Move Forward, proposes to reduce carbon emissions, via subsidies to farmers and the promotion of electric cars, while Pheu Thai has pledged to end burning within a deadline. one year.
The latter, leading in the polls, also support a version of a bill on air quality, proposed by a citizen think tank, the Clean Air Network (CAN).
Several parties of the outgoing coalition have also assured that they support this law.
Air quality is “a real public health crisis”, declared Weenarin Lulitanonda, of the CAN, for whom many electoral promises remain “fuzzy”.
A long-time activist, she says she is encouraged by the “wind of change” but is waiting to see if once in power, the parties will “walk the talk” to pass a law.
The clientelism on which Thai politics is based prevents real change, says Danny Marks, assistant professor of environmental policy at Dublin City University.
According to him, behind the small farmers who are blamed, there are powerful agribusinesses.
“Those who are basically profiting from everyone breathing stale air are unfortunately those who are quite close to the government,” Mr Marks said.
Big parties, even Pheu Thai, have “always been allied with big business”.
For Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, cardiologist in Chiang Mai (north), the political class “does not take things seriously enough”.
“Policy makers need to understand the science and realize the importance of the issue, then get on with it and have the political will to tackle the problem,” he said.
“People have been screaming a lot, yelling a lot, so they’re starting to hear us.”
08/05/2023 11:32:57 – Bangkok (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
