The climate crisis, brought into our homes last week with images of devastation from Nepal, a flooding disaster that may have been caused by glaciers cracking apart in the fast-warming Himalayas.

An energy security crisis, deepened by the escalation of conflict in Iran which may have cost the Asia-Pacific region up to $299 billion US dollars while pushing over 8 million people toward poverty.

A crisis of nature - the natural infrastructure on which three quarters of Asia and the Pacific's GDP depends - with a 60% decline in wildlife populations in this region in my lifetime.

Such shocks do not have good manners. They do not wait politely for the first shock to leave before the next enters our lives, our businesses, and our boardrooms.

They are simultaneous and serious, and because of that it can be hard to cut through the noise; to use the momentum of one shock to align ideas, measurements, investments, and incentives to produce a shift for people and planet.

It can be hard, distinguished guests; hard… but not impossible. And that is in part because we have a common framework with a common set of goals – a compass to guide us all in the right direction: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For business, the SDGs are not a parallel agenda. They are a map of where risk is rising, where demand is growing and where the next investment opportunities will be found.

So the question for every company in this room is simple: are you positioned for where Thailand is going—or are you exposed to what is changing?

With fewer than 1,600 days to 2030, four in five SDG targets remain off track—and the annual financing gap is around US$4 trillion.

But there is progress to build on, globally, and here in Thailand.

[SLIDE 4: The SDG Index 2026 - Thailand]

For a number of years now, Thailand has consistently ranked top among ASEAN countries measured for the SDG Index, 43rd out of 169 countries in 2026.

That is not luck. It reflects years of sustained progress, particularly on poverty reduction and education.

An SDG index like this earns its value when it signals where to focus next, and for Thailand, investment gaps are clear: more is needed on climate action, including to reducing carbon emissions; more on effectively managing nature, and more to strengthen governance and institutions.

A national ranking is useful, but it hides enormous variation underneath it — the SDG story in Bangkok is not the SDG story in Chiang Rai, or the Deep South.

[SLIDE 13: UNDP’s SDG Localization]

Through the EU-funded UNDP SDG Localization Project, we've worked with the Ministry of Interior, NESDC, and provincial governments to build SDG Profiles — province-by-province data showing where each province is doing well, and where they need to focus.

This insight is increasingly informing provincial budgets and planning, and right now, along with MOI and UN partners, we are designing an SDG Local Finance Accelerator to support climate resilience infrastructure, because global evidence says a persistent gap in climate resilient infrastructure constrains SDG investment.

For any business deciding where to build, where to source, how to expand in Thailand, this is investment intelligence.

Let’s cross-reference this with a look at the private sector’s performance: the SDG Corporate Tracker being built by the Securities and Exchange Commission and UNDP maps how listed companies report against the SDGs.

The 2024 disclosures showed the strongest alignment with SDGs 8, 10 and 16. Alignment was less visible on health, infrastructure and climate - telling investors where reporting and management are strongest, and where gaps remain.

It is important to note that SDG 13 has the strongest reporting backbone here. 

Mandatory ESG disclosure in Thailand's One Report already requires companies to report Scope 1 and 2 emissions data. The SEC has set out a phased move towards ISSB-aligned climate reporting.

Investing nationally and locally in the SDGs, while tracking progress with transparency – this SDG baseline is increasingly clear in Thailand.

Going to the next level to close that SDG gap is not just homework for the Government. And it will not come from solidarity or persuasion alone.

Finance is at the heart of it, particularly how private finance is structured, governed, and directed. And that requires three things:

• Signals show investors where Thailand is going.
• Rules determine how businesses compete.
• Protection helps capital, companies and communities withstand the next shock.

Thailand is building all three right now.

Signals

First, signals.

Thailand's OECD accession tells the private sector that market rules will increasingly align with international standards — through greater transparency, stronger corporate governance, more reliable disclosure and responsible business conduct. That has the potential to reduce uncertainty and strengthen investor confidence.

Thailand’s decision to join the Open Government Partnership is another signal of OECD readiness: a commitment to more transparent government, predictable regulation, integrity in procurement, and to open data and policy made with stakeholders—not behind closed doors. 

For business, open government is part of the infrastructure of a competitive market.

Thailand's NDC 3.0 provides another long-term signal: net zero by 2050. It commits to an enabling environment for capital investment in renewable energy and modern grids, cleaner transport and industry, efficient buildings and nature-based solutions.

But a target is not yet an investment pipeline. Clear sector pathways and predictable policies are needed to turn that ambition into bankable projects.

Thailand's first sovereign Sustainability-Linked Bond turned national climate commitments into a financial incentive, linking borrowing costs to measurable progress on emissions and zero-emission vehicles.

UNDP supports verification of the Bond’s indicator on Electric Vehicles, helping to build investor confidence and identify policy pathways to meet the Bond’s target.

Thailand is now preparing to issue its second sovereign Sustainability-Linked Bond later this month, linking its emissions target with its commitment to protect at least 30% of land and inland waters by 2030.

That places Thailand among the global pioneers using sovereign finance to help drive investment and accountability towards nature.

Investing in the ability to read signals – and early - is also key. Increasingly, competing successfully will depend on a culture of learning and experimentation. 

Governments and business will not be able to pick winners based on what worked in the past, as they will not know in advance what will work. This uncertainty needs to be factored into programs and investment pipelines, designed through collaborative, diverse, and iterative approaches that are open to removing constraints. 

That is the logic behind Thailand Policy Lab, or TP lab, a joint venture between UNDP and NESDC, financed by the Royal Thai Government.

Second, rules.

Thailand's One Report already provides listed companies with a common framework for disclosing sustainability performance, including human rights issues and greenhouse gas emissions.

The SEC is now bringing Thailand's sustainability-related disclosures further into line with international standards.

That expectation of credible evidence does not stop with business. Climate audits tell us whether climate action is delivering—whether public money is well spent, emissions are falling and people are better protected. As chair of the global Working Group on Environmental Auditing, Thailand is helping lead that shift.

Among Thailand’s key trading partners, new rules and requirements are moving in the same direction.

In the European Union, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive requires large companies to address human rights and environmental risks across their value chains. CBAM puts a carbon price on emissions embedded in certain imports.

These expectations will travel down supply chains. A Thai SME may not be directly covered, but every size therefore need to be ready. 

Large firms need strong data and due-diligence systems. Smaller firms need practical tools, technical support and finance, so that higher standards do not lock them out.

This is where UNDP’s SDG Impact work helps. Its Standards enable enterprises, investors and bond issuers to embed impact into strategy, management, transparency and governance.

In Thailand, our work with the SEC through the SDG Guidebook and Corporate Tracker is helping companies move beyond displaying SDG logos to measuring and managing their real contribution.

Now that work is moving to the next level in the international ISO system.

ISO/UNDP 53002 already offers practical guidance for putting the SDGs into operations.

Later this month, ISO/UNDP 53001 is due to add a certifiable management system for organizations of any size.

For business, the value is simple: one framework for managing climate, human-rights, supply-chain and SDG expectations—rather than a separate compliance exercise for each.

Third, protection.

Even sound investments can be derailed by shocks.

Insurance can give private capital the confidence to invest in SDG solutions that might otherwise remain unfunded.

Through its Insurance and Risk Finance Facility, UNDP works with public and private partners in 39 countries to protect vulnerable people and public finances.

In Thailand, we are working with Generali on solutions for MSMEs and their workers. With BMA we are exploring parametric insurance for workers exposed to extreme urban heat in Bangkok. 

The financing is arranged in advance, so when temperatures cross an agreed threshold, payments can move quickly to affected workers.

That shift from response to preparedness matters. Programme analysis suggests that climate resilience investments across Bangkok, Khon Kaen and Surat Thani, for example, could avert between US$112 million and US$224 million in climate losses over ten years. Protection is not only safer; it is sound economics.

Protection can work in two ways: helping people and businesses withstand shocks, while helping finance avoid enabling harm.

Through the FAST programme, UNDP works with governments, banks and investors to reduce the risk that legitimate finance may inadvertently be linked to forced labour, trafficking or other serious abuses.

In Thailand, we are working with the Ministry of Justice, GCNT and the financial sector to strengthen due diligence and help capital flow towards responsible businesses.

Signals. Rules. Protection.

All three depend on measuring what matters.

For more than 30 years, UNDP’s Human Development Reports have challenged the world to look beyond GDP. Later this year, the 2026 report will push that frontier further with a new Nature Relationship Index.

This new Index will move beyond simply recording environmental damage. For each country, it will assess whether nature is thriving and accessible, whether it is used with care, and whether the laws and institutions protect it.

For business, this matters because nature is not just scenery. It is economic infrastructure: the water supplying factories, the forests protecting watersheds and the wetlands shielding cities from floods.

The new Nature Relationship Index can make those dependencies—and the cost of losing them—more visible, measurable and investable.

Distinguished guests, the SDGs give us a shared destination. Private capital brings the scale and speed to reach it.

The private sector is where this transition becomes real—in what you finance, build, buy and measure.

So my invitation today is simple: use the signals. Prepare for the rules. Build protection before the next shock arrives. And measure what really changes.

Taken together, your decisions can do more than move markets. They can shape the competitive, net-zero and nature-positive economy on which future markets will depend.

That is how a shock becomes a shift.