Thailand has taken early actions in the field of energy and has very ambitious plans in
the relevant sectors.
Energy security has long been an issue of concern over the course of Thailand's development.
In the past, power generation in Thailand relied heavily on crude oil imports. To remedy this, the
Government initiated a shift to natural gas in the power generation sector as early as the 1980s.
Such effort has continued throughout the 1990s. And, in 2005 about 72% of electricity in
Thailand was generated using natural gas, which is already a cleaner alternative to other types
of fossil fuels. These early actions imply that Thailand is left with less available choices and
faced with higher marginal cost of further reducing GHG emission in the energy sector.
Despite some limitations due to our early actions, the Ministry of Energy is taking a step forward
to balance three key aspects of energy planning for Thailand: security, economy and ecology,
also taking into account the need to address climate change. Ambitious targets are defined in
the Power Development Plan (PDP), the Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP) and the
Energy Efficiency Plan (EEP). For example, the PDP sets a target to achieve a 20% share of
power generation from renewable sources in 2036. The AEDP aims to achieve a 30% share of
renewable energy in the total final energy consumption in 2036. The EEP plans to reduce the
country’s energy intensity by 30% below the 2010 level in 2036.
The Environmentally Sustainable Transport System Plan also proposes ambitious actions to
promote road-to-rail modal shift for both freight and passenger transport, which include
extensions of mass rapid transit lines, construction of double-track railways and improvement of
bus transit in the Bangkok Metro areas. A vehicle tax scheme based on CO2 emission was also
approved and will become effective beginning 2016. In addition, just last year the Government
adopted the Waste Management Roadmap, aiming towards more efficient and sustainable
waste management and promotion of power generation from waste-to-energy technologies. The
roadmap can contribute tremendous environmental benefits in terms of GHG emission and
pollution reduction. Currently, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is also
studying the potential to reduce carbon emission in the forest sector through the REDD+
Readiness. We will continue to explore further opportunities and cooperation in this sector.