Thailand’s Way Forward for SDGs and COP21

               The conference was inaugurated by a warm welcome speech by Chulalongkorn University's council member Dr. Tarisa Watanagase who shared some thoughts on the university's reaching its imminent 100th anniversary and future expectations. For this auspicious occasion, it is hence quintessential to nurture and polish the intellectual competence and research agenda that align with timely global circumstances.

Dr. Daniel M. Kammen

Distinguished Professor of Energy at the University of California, Berkeley

      He presented an energy case of California, United States in comparison with an energy case of Sarawak, Malaysia. Having previously suffered from the energy crisis fifteen years ago, California turned a setback into an impressive comeback through strict renewable energy laws and rich economy. Meanwhile in Sarawak, the city struggled with seeking a sufficient form of energy in which the then-ongoing coal-fired power plant project was under serious controversy. After the collaboration between University of California, Berkeley and a group of non-governmental organizations, the findings were presented, which conduced to the project being dismantled. He additionally went to point out that unlike previous climate change conferences, COP21 indicated a fresh start where nations engaged in more sincere dialogues in finding solutions for the global environmental crisis.

Dr. Suntariya Muanpawong

Chief Judge of the Research Justice Division, the Supreme Court of Appeal

     She introduced the term justice replacing the tern law. Based on this premise, she believed that lawyers are required widen their perspectives beyond court cases. Lawyers ought to explore human conditions and learn to understand the aspect of social implications. In terms of environmental justice, she provoked the attendees into thinking about the rights of nature and its limited space in Thailand. Towards the end of her presentation, she left the floor with some big questions that are likely to lead to sustainability: how can novel ideas be engendered and adapted? How to foster collaboration in a cross-cutting manner? How can some of the conventional mentalities be altered?

Mr. Suppakorn Chinvanno

Advisor, Southeast Asia START Regional Center, Chulalongkorn University

      He began by clarifying the concept of climate change adaptation which is having strategies and plans to foster a society that is more secure, resilient, and robust to climate variability and changes in the future.  Not only do changes concern with the uncertainty of the future caused by environmental factors, it also relates to socio-economic conditions. He noted that it has to be addressed in a specific manner in accordance with certain areas and periods of time. There is hence a new paradigm shift in the study of climate change adaptation that emphasizes on socio-economic insight, which in turn should be set forth as the founding of the research for the purpose of framing scientific analysis. To illustrate, he proposed a new framework of climate change research that encourages the engagement of researchers, especially a new generation of researchers with broader sets of minds, from interdisciplinary fields such as the political scientists.

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