His comments, during a national broadcast on Friday, were timed to mark Earth Day on Saturday.

Prayut stressed that greenhouse gas emissions were an issue for everyone, rather than a problem for the government to tackle by controlling industrial plants.

“Each of us emit greenhouse gases – a smaller or larger amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere on a daily basis – be it by driving, turning on lights or appliances, or other activities,” he said.

The PM cited an environmental organisation in Germany that ranked Thailand among 10 countries that would be worst hit by the effects of global warming, which said the Kingdom was 21st on the list of countries that emit the most greenhouse gases.

“If we don’t do anything, we will face more disasters with more frequency and more severity in less than 20 years,” Prayut said.

The government recognised that this issue was important and started measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions seriously in 2015, when he declared in Paris that Thailand would reduce its emissions by 20-25 per cent by 2030, Prayut said.