‘Make emitters responsible’: Thailand’s clean air activists

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Each winter, large parts of Thailand are plagued by haze caused by weather patterns, seasonal burning, vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions.

PHOTO: AFP

BANGKOK - A finance specialist who struggled after running in smog and a doctor who fears for the health of his children are among the activists spearheading landmark air pollution legislation in Thailand despite political uncertainty.

Each winter, large parts of Thailand are plagued by haze caused by weather patterns, seasonal burning, vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions.

Years of efforts to tackle the problem, including work-from-home policies and rules on crop stubble burning, have done little to alleviate the issue.

Now, there is a glimmer of hope for fresh action in the form of the Clean Air Bill, which would enshrine the right to breathable air, tax emitters and offer public information on the sources of pollution.

Dr Wirun Limsawart, who has helped lead the push for the measure as part of the Thailand Clean Air Network (CAN),grew up in southern Nakhon Si Thammarat.

But it wasn’t until he returned to Thailand in 2018 after a decade abroad that he realised the scale of the country’s pollution problem.

He began to worry about the impact of the dirty air on his three children.

“It made me question my role as an anthropologist and a doctor,” he told AFP. “What can I do?”

The son of a seamstress and a mechanic, Dr Wirun was a straight-A student who studied at one of Thailand’s top medical schools.

“My parents always showed me what it meant to genuinely care for