Thailand is planning to achieve net zero emissions by 2065, 15 years later than its neighbours in the lower Mekong region. The country is seeking funding for climate response, and although its delegate at COP28 said Thailand is expecting some financial assistance from the Loss and Damage Fund, it will need other sources since the amount of grants given by the Fund is likely to be limited.

The long-overdue Loss and Damage Fund to assist climate responses has become a huge political question during the first day of COP28. As negotiations are on going and countries continue to pledge to the Fund, Thailand's negotiation team says access to the Fund should be based on how hard a country has been hit by climate change and not its GDP.

COP28 opens tomorrow (30 November) in Dubai, and carbon credit is still on the agenda. Thailand, which has pledged to become a carbon-neutral country by 2050 and carbon-zero by 2065, is turning towards a carbon credit market while its major corporations explore low-carbon businesses. However, local communities are skeptical and have raised concerns that their land and natural resources would be exploited by private businesses selling carbon credits.

From 30 November - 12 December, world leaders will gather in Dubai for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28 to discuss the climate crisis. But where is Thailand in this issue? The country has turned to the carbon credit market on its road to carbon neutrality and net zero, but the civil society has questions about its effectiveness and are concerned about the market being taken over by corporations.

<p>The aridity of the Thung Kula Ronghai region&rsquo;s alkaline soil is behind the Hom Mali rice strain&rsquo;s popularity as a world-renowned export. The rice farmers and the special care they put into their production method have succeeded in turning their despair at the unpredictability of the rain cycle into assets. While quite a number of Isaan (northeastern Thai) people prefer sticky rice to regular rice for everyday consumption, the jasmine or &lsquo;Hom Mali 105&rsquo; variety has been grown in Isaan for 70 years. How did the popularity of this particular rice variety come about?</p>

<p>As the deadline for the submission of countries&rsquo; climate change action plans to the Paris agreement (NDCs) draws to a close, regional lawmakers urge ASEAN member states to review their climate ambitions</p>

<p>As Buddhists, our relationship with the earth is ancient. Shakyamuni Buddha, taunted by the demon king Mara under the Bodhi Tree before his enlightenment, remained steady in meditation. He reached down to touch the earth, and the earth responded: “I am your witness.” The earth was partner to the Buddha’s work; she is our partner, as we are hers.</p>

<p>Some years ago, I was in conversation with a retired government official who had been a high heidyin in the Bangkok governor’s office.&nbsp; Bangkok was just recovering from the latest inundation and he was scathing in his criticisms of the administration of the day.</p> <p>He noted, correctly, that flooding in the capital seemed to be both more frequent and more severe.&nbsp; I agreed, but mentioned climate change and other factors that were not directly under the BMA’s control.</p>

<div> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a0cbb653-6708-7d8c-2765-822d79482c10">As the negotiations at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris are ongoing, the following column analyses the effects of various global climate change scenarios on Bangkok. The planet has already experienced a 1ºC increase since the industrial revolution and is expected to reach </span><a href="http://issuu.com/greenpeaceth/docs/en">5-6ºC warming</a> in a business-as-usual situation (BAU) (which incorporates the 1,600 planned coal-fired power stations globally) by 2200 at the latest.</p> </div>

<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1c186738-87b6-fd85-06ff-7ad65e4de0a6">On August 26</span>th Khon Kaen University was visited by a joint EU-French delegation consisting of Mrs. Luisa Ragher, Deputy Head of EU Delegation, and Mr. Pierre Colliot, Counsellor for Culture and Cooperation (Embassy of France), guests at a seminar to emphasize the importance of the upcoming 21st Conference of Parties Climate Change Conference, to be held in Paris from November 30 to December 11.</p>

<p dir="ltr"><img alt="" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7386/16468173971_c5ded15a0f_c.jpg" /></p> <p dir="ltr">As a part of the Global Divestment Day, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Southeast Asia is hosting a film screening and discussion on divestment in Thailand and is inviting everyone to come along, get informed and get involved on 13 February 2015.</p>

<p>(March 20, 2012) _ Although the level of deforestation in the world&rsquo;s second-largest tropical forest remains relatively low compared to similar regions in Asia and Latin America, the latest satellite-based monitoring data has revealed that the annual rates of gross deforestation in the Congo Basin have doubled since 1990, according to a new study.</p>