Joseph Lim 
Thaksin vies for top spot w PM
"what's more disturbing abt daddy-daughter admin is its complete failure to address choking #smog problem in #Bangkok & #provinces. Its #ignorance of e important role of Royal #Rainmaking & Agric'al Aviation Dept is glaring.. For FY2025 e dept asked for Bht7bil budget but was given Bht2.1b.. while Bht5.2b was granted to promote #softpower projs headed by Paetongtarn, w most of e funding spent on PR.. leaving Bangkokians to choke on #BKKSmog"
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2948087/thaksin-vies-for-top-spot-with-pm
Thaksin vies for top spot with PM

<p>You can call Thaksin Shinawatra a former prime minister and de facto leader of the Pheu Thai Party and, lately, also de facto prime minister, as you wish -- because none of those names are wrong. It would, however, be fiercely denied by the guardians of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who insist she is still in charge of the government and running the country.</p>

Bangkok Post
Jan 27 at 1:10amMastodon for Android
Show threadJoseph Lim Jan 27
According to #IQAir with data by #NASA, Bangkok surrounded by a ring of #burning fire stretching from NorthWest to NorthEast - who is taking action?? If not for prevailing winds due to the high pressure from the North, AQI readings would have registered dangerously high levels!
#BangkokSmog #BKKSMOG #ThailandSmog #ThailandPM25 #Thailand #Bangkok #CleanAirAct #airpollution #HumanRights
#pollutionKills #governance #policy
Show threadJoseph Lim Jan 31
#Policies lag as fields burn
"Burning #sugarcane before cutting - known as #preharvest #burning - wasn't part of traditional sugarcane #harvesting in #Thailand. Harvest'g methods changed as sugarcane #plantations hv become #bigbusiness in domestic & #international markets.. capable harvesters hv retired, resulting in a skilled labour shortfall. Meanwhile, to meet strict #deadlines, sugar #farmers resorted to burning e sugarcane to make it #faster & #easier to harvest" 1/2
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2951292/policies-lag-as-fields-burn
Policies lag as fields burn

<p>With sugarcane plantations being a source of air pollution, viral images of farmers taking selfies while a field of sugarcane burns behind them have stirred public anger.</p>

Bangkok Post
Show threadJoseph Lim Jan 31
2/2
" #government agencies & #policymakers are overly relaxed when it comes to other air #pollution sources, such as #factories & other #commercial plantations, such as #maize.. There has been no real #strategy or #policy to clean the #supplychain of the #farmsector & #industry which are major sources of #PM25. But there are workable examples to follow"
🤔>> Ineffectiveness or choreography? The evidence lies in the results from actions taken.
#profitsoverpeople #HumanRights #CleanAirAct #Thailand
Show threadJoseph Lim Feb 3
#Thailand chokes while promises fade
"in Mar 2023, as 🇹🇭 was grappling w its #annual #smogcrisis, #Paetongtarn - campaigning for #PheuThai Party - promised tt, if #elected, PTP wld take decisive action to alleviate #airpollution.. tt her #government wld work w neighbouring countries.. She is now PM & PTP's in power. Yet air #pollution continues to #plague 🇹🇭.. All of #Bangkok's 352 schools were ordered to close.. challenge lies in overcoming resistance fr #vestedinterests"
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2953110/thailand-chokes-while-promises-fade
Thailand chokes while promises fade

<p>Almost two years ago, in March 2023, as Thailand was grappling with its annual smog crisis, Paetongtarn Shinawatra -- while campaigning for the Pheu Thai Party -- promised that, if elected, the party would take decisive action to alleviate air pollution in the country. She stated that her government would work with neighbouring countries to manage forest fires and encourage the conversion of post-harvest waste into compost for fertiliser, providing a sustainable alternative to burning.</p>

Bangkok Post