Thailand is struggling to come up with clear strategies to deal with global warming amid the increasing possibility of volatile climate conditions leading to more non-tariff trade barriers on agricultural and other products.
Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai admitted it is possible that more trade barriers could go up, like some imposed by Japan, the European Union and the United States.
"Aside from diseases and drought, climate change is now my focal point. We need to incorporate it into our policy planning, to create immunity, to educate and encourage the private sector on innovations and guide them on how to maintain their competitiveness," said Porntiva.
The ministry is now charting out five to 10-year strategies dealing with climate change, along with action plans on how Thailand could benefit from the Asean Economic Community (AEC), which will take effect from 2015.
Dusit Nontanakorn, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said that Thailand must have clear strategies on how it would be positioned in the regional and global playing fields.
Regionally, it looks clear that Thailand would be a better place five years from now thanks to the Asean Free-Trade Area (AFTA).
However, in the global arena Thailand will need to cope with more limitations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks, climate change and environment. Some major private companies have now embarked on carbon-credit trading and the chamber will disseminate the results to small and medium-sized enterprises.
To prepare for the AEC, large-sized companies also conduct corporate benchmarking against other players in the regional field, to see how they can move up the ladder.
"The Thai government apparently has no time to think along this line. We are too involved with the [political] 'Sports Day'," Dusit said. "Political turbulence must be quietened so that we can look at the problems around us like information technology, the ageing society and health concerns. Then, we must paint the next scenario. Just ask people around the country, how much do they know about carbon credit?
"The private sector is aware of these challenges, but the government must take the lead like in Malaysia and Singapore," he said.
Dusit said the AEC, the environment and carbon credit were major challenges for Thailand. He said it is necessary that Thailand has the right scenarios in mind, and the strategies must be plotted accordingly. Then, on a quarterly basis, the strategies should be reviewed to see if more actions are necessary in the next quarter so that the overall targets can be achieved.
"The strategies would determine what action plans Thailand would need to adopt in the course of time. Only the right implementation of the right strategies will ensure economic growth. It is useless to set a growth target without having clear strategies on how to achieve it," Dusit said.
Apichart Jongskul, secretary-general of the Office of Agricultural Economics, asserted that there is an urgent need for Thailand to come up with measures to deal with global warming.
"After the free-trade agreements that bring import tariffs to zero, the [WTO's] Doha Round would introduce some kind of pressure. Then, we're facing challenges from the Asean Economic Community. Finally, all focus will fall on the environment. Without any defensive tools, Thailand would have to do what it is commanded by others," he said.
He said there is a need for Thailand to have the right database on how much greenhouse gas it emits. As an agricultural country, some techniques could lead to high methane emissions. But then, before imposing any restrictions, the food Thailand is supplying the world must be taken into account.
