Resident Coordinator's Remarks for MOI's Success on Food Waste Management for Climate Action and a Commitment to Sustainable Thailand

I am delighted to address you today on the first anniversary of the 76 Governors signing a statement of commitment with the UN to accelerate the country’s bio-circular-green transformation by localizing the SDGs.

Over this past year we have seen concrete results being delivered and today’s ceremony is a demonstration of that.

The waste segregation project started by the MOI in 2019 is now coming to full fruition. The partnership between MOI and the UN has given it pace and scale as we are seeing from this first trading of carbon credits.

Initiatives such as this can be an SDG accelerator in country by scaling up waste segregation and carbon credits in line with the Government’s BCG agenda.

They can be an example to other countries in the region where Thailand can play a critical role in fostering sustainable development through spreading good practices.   

Just as importantly, this initiative shows the power of wide-ranging partnerships.

These include the participating families, local authorities, governors, KBank executives and UN agencies.

These deepening partnerships allow us to adopt a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, bringing all actors together to fast-track waste segregation and generate incomes to families through composting.

The results will yield great benefits both for communities and climate as it reduces greenhouse gases by 550,000 tons which is equivalent to planting 41 million trees. 

It will also generate incomes of 7.4 billion baht to local administrations from selling fertilizer, which can be directed to improving public infrastructure and services.

None of this would have been possible without the commitments and contributions of all those involved.

I would like to thank Khun Suttipong, Permanent Secretary of MOI, and Dr. Wandee for conceiving this idea and championing it in partnership with the private sector. Your leadership is truly inspirational as we seek to localize the SDGs and promote what Khun Suttipong you call “change for good”.

I also want to acknowledge Khun Kajohn, Director-General Department of Local Administration, as well as the Governors of Lumpoon, Loei, Am-Nat Charoen and Samut Songkram.

MOI’s collective leadership is core to the success and we at the UN look forward to scaling up carbon credit projects, such as this, in coming years.

My heartfelt thanks also to the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization for creating the opportunity to have a carbon trading system in place, which provides a model to formalize carbon markets.

Your independent assessments are extremely important for assessing carbon emissions and assigning carbon credits for them.

As Thailand’s agricultural and waste sectors together generate 20% of GHGs, your work will be pivotal as we continue reducing this footprint in alignment with the country’s commitment to reach carbon neutrality by mid-century.

I would like to thank the president of Kasikorn Bank for showing great leadership on the drive towards carbon neutrality in Thailand.

You are demonstrating the transformative role of bankers, investors, and asset managers in speeding up progress towards Thailand’s achievement of the SDGs and its transition to a bio-circular-green economy.

You are a role model for many other financial institutions, having been one of the first to sign the UNs Principles of Responsible Banking, which shows your vision and commitment.

We are looking to other banks to emulate the example you are setting for the entire sector.

What we are seeing today is the culmination of crucial steps in localizing the SDGs.

The participation of the 14 million households yielding over 550,000 tons of carbon reductions annually and its equivalent in carbon credits.

The carbon credits will serve as an economic incentive for local authorities to scale up waste segregation until every household is fully engaged.

I hope that by the end of the year all provinces will secure their carbon credits, taking waste segregation to scale.

That way we can truly leverage carbon-trading predicated on waste management to reach the country’s GHG reduction targets under the Paris Agreement.

Today’s event is a critical milestone, and I am happy to witness it together with my UN colleagues from UNFCCC, UNEP, UNDP and UNIDO.

You are showing the way towards a cleaner, greener, low-carbon and more inclusive nation.

Thank you.