ALM UNDP

Summary:

Full Report

This report attempts to explain why and how climate change is affecting Bangkok. It raises awareness of actions that can be taken to lessen the impacts of climate change in Bangkok. The report sets out a number of adaptation options for the city, including: improving the local public health infrastructure; establishing early warning systems; and implementing stricter zoning and building codes.

Bangkok contains close to 15 per cent of the entire population of Thailand, or close to 10 million people in real terms. Thailand’s capital, communications hub, and administrative and business centre produced emissions of carbon dioxide totalling 43 million tons in 2005-a much greater volume than that of Toronto (24 million tons). Although they were lower than the total carbon dioxide emissions of New York City (58 million tons), they were about the same as those of London (44 million tons). Those data are enough to put Bangkok in the ranks of major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. In per capita terms, Bangkok was responsible for producing 7.1 tons of carbon dioxide per annum in 2007, that is, the same level of emissions as produced by New Yorkers (7.1 tons per capita), and considerably higher than the annual emissions of Londoners (5.9 tons per capita) but lower than the levels produced by residents of Toronto (9.6 tons per capita).

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