Showing 1 - 6 of 6
Transition-finance for a green economy
Oped, Sarinee Achavanuntakul, Published on 05/03/2025
» For those who advocate for more timely and meaningful climate finance commensurate with the increasingly cataclysmic impact of climate change, the year 2025 seems to begin on a rocky start. Early last month, 11 large US and Canadian banks exited the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), the UN-backed coalition of banks that claim their dedication to advancing global net zero goals through financing activities.
Role of banks in climate change future
Oped, Sarinee Achavanuntakul, Published on 22/01/2025
» On Jan 10, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced that 2024 was the warmest year on record, likely the first year with a global mean temperature of more than 1C above the 1850-1900 average. Despite the alarming fact, the year 2025 is not off to a good start. The same week that WMO made that ominous announcement, JP Morgan became the sixth and latest bank in the United States to withdraw from the UN-backed Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), following the earlier exits of Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs -- all of which left since the start of last month.
Pushing banks towards green finance
News, Sarinee Achavanuntakul, Published on 02/10/2024
» In an earlier article in this space, I mentioned that "the Bank of Thailand should integrate [Thailand] taxonomy into its reporting and disclosure regulations for the financial sector, as the EU has done, because the public scrutiny of activities in the banking sector can and should be part of the learning process on the journey towards greener finance".
Next steps for Thailand Taxonomy
News, Sarinee Achavanuntakul, Published on 09/09/2024
» As demands for climate finance increase with the tangible impacts of climate change, people increasingly look to the government and various regulators to establish and upgrade a more effective combination of rules, regulations and market-based mechanisms to spur investments at a scale that is commensurate to our needs.
The twin challenges of 'climate finance'
Oped, Sarinee Achavanuntakul, Published on 07/08/2024
» As I am writing this in early August, climate finance is becoming a trendier topic in Thailand's financial and business sector. I suspect this is partly due to two recent developments: the upcoming Climate Change Act (the draft of which is making the rounds via public hearing sessions), and the Excise Department's announcement in June 2024 that Thailand aims to become the second country in Asean, after Singapore, to collect carbon tax, which is slated to start at 200 baht per metric ton of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e).
No sign of a 'just' energy transition
News, Sarinee Achavanuntakul, Published on 10/07/2024
» As multiple impacts of climate change become more severe worldwide, including in Thailand, the need for an energy transition becomes ever more paramount. To that end, the latest draft of the Power Development Plan (draft PDP2024), which was unveiled in June, is touted by the Ministry of Energy as being consistent with Thailand's goals of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero by 2065 -- goals that already lag behind those of most countries.