The UK has been working with Germany, France and the EU to make September 9 a Joint Action Day on Climate Change. At events around the world, we put across a common message: the time for action on climate change is now!
In Thailand, the British Embassy, the German Embassy and the EU Delegation hosted a joint event with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to highlight the need for urgent action to combat climate change, and also the serious risks we face if we don’t act, or if we don’t act quickly enough.
And we must face this challenge together. It is too big for one country or group of countries to solve alone. The only way is by reaching a global deal, one which commits all countries to drastically reduce their carbon emissions, and sets us on a path towards a low carbon, sustainable future.
The scientific evidence is clear about the severe consequences we face if we don’t achieve this. We also launched a map from the UK’s Met Office looking at the ‘Human Dynamics of Climate Change’. The map sets out the impact that climate change will have by the end of the century – on water availability, flood risk, crop production, fish stocks and other areas.
This gives some stark warnings to us all about the risks of inaction. For South East Asia, there is the added challenge of an increasing population and with it additional demand for food and for energy.
Some of those impacts can of course be seen now. I was here when the devastating floods happened in 2011, not as British Ambassador but as a student, learning the Thai language and culture in Bangkok and Khon Kaen.
I remember clearly the damage caused by the floods to property, to people’s livelihoods and to the national economy. I remember the scarcity of food and drinking water, and the hundreds of thousands of people forced from their homes.
I also remember when I was ambassador to Vietnam the intensity of storms and damage caused by typhoons.
This is a picture that is becoming sadly familiar across the world, and one that will be repeated more and more frequently – undermining our security and our prosperity – if we don’t change our path.
The message is clear – we need to act on climate change, we need to act now, and we need to act together.