BANGKOK (LiCAS News): Thailand’s Catholic bishops have urged the country’s parliament to immediately pass the Clean Air Management Act as hazardous smog continues to affect communities across the country.
On May 14, Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand [CBCT], submitted a petition to the Speaker of the House calling for the approval of the measure now under parliamentary review.
The petition invoked Section 147 of the Thai Constitution and described clean air as a fundamental human right that must be protected by the state.
Drawing from Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’, the bishops said care for the environment is inseparable from the protection of human life and dignity.
“Care for one another and care for our world is closely related to the changes in the air we breathe every day,” the archbishop said in the statement delivered at Parliament.
The appeal comes as northern Thailand continues to face dangerous levels of PM 2.5 pollution.
In late April, air quality readings reportedly reached 164.8 microgrammes per cubic metres in some areas, far exceeding accepted safety levels. More than 2,000 hotspots were also recorded nationwide by the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency [GISTDA].
The bishops described the pollution crisis as a “quietly creeping threat” fueled by human activity and weak environmental governance.
The statement also warned of growing “environmental injustice,” saying poor communities bear the heaviest burden of worsening air pollution.
While wealthier families can afford air purifiers and sealed indoor environments, farmers, children, ethnic communities, and low-income households remain heavily exposed to polluted air, the bishops pointed out.
The Church outlined several principles behind its support for the proposed law, including the protection of human dignity, stronger coordination across industrial and agricultural sectors, accountability for polluters, and long-term environmental rehabilitation funding.
The draft Clean Air Management Act received Cabinet approval in 2023 and seeks to establish a national pollution database and a regulatory body authorised to enforce emissions standards and penalties.
But the bill has faced delays in the Senate over legal and technical concerns.
The bishops warned that continued delays could amount to a neglect of public duty and linked the proposed legislation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on health and sustainable cities.
Archbishop Arpondratana said legal reforms alone would not solve the crisis and called for greater public responsibility and corporate accountability.
“Pursuing economic benefits at the expense of breath, health, and the lives of others is against a clear conscience and religious doctrine,” the archbishop said.
