Push needed to get to carbon neutrality goals

It is now clear why early experts expressed concern over climate change, as many countries have come to witness its impact, such as flood, drought, rainfall decline, abnormalities in seasonal change and increasing food scarcity.

Uncertainty over humanity’s future and that of the planet can be traced to the shift from manual production to machines as the Industrial Revolution was ignited in the 18th century. Most of machines of that day were driven by coal, which grew to be the largest anthropogenic (ie human created) source of carbon dioxide contributing to climate change.

The PM2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter) air pollution now plaguing Thailand is due to emissions from the combustion of gasoline, oil, diesel fuel, wood, and, yes, coal, accounting for an estimated 7 million premature deaths every year.

Phase-out of fossil fuels

A historic agreement to transition away from fossil fuels was reached during the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates on December 12.

Agreements to triple renewable energy and increase climate financing for the most vulnerable nations have also been made to limit long-term global average near-surface temperature to 1.5C above the pre-industrial era.

The conference calls for more decisive climate action to limit climate change and minimize the extreme weather that is increasingly causing massive environmental, economic and societal upheaval.

World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) reports indicate that 2023 is virtually certain to be the warmest year on record, already about 1.4C above the pre-industrial era. The global temperature is expected to increase further in 2024.

“Science tells us that limiting global heating to 1.5C will be impossible without the phase-out of fossil fuel,” warned United Nations secretary-general António Guterres. “The era of fossil fuels must end – and it must end with justice and equity.”
 

More challenges

Thailand is making progress towards a low-carbon society. However, the Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research has outlined several barriers to the transition:

• Locked-in fossil fuel infrastructure: The planned and grey- energy projects in the pipeline, unabated coal power plants and other legacy structures are costly to change due to sunk investment costs — and can lead to future stranded assets. These present a challenge to the development of alternative clean energy infrastructure.

• Regulatory risk: Policy discontinuity or stop-and-go policy, fossil fuel subsidies, and related hiccups.

• Laws and regulations: Under this existing regulatory structure, peer-to-peer clean energy trading is still not supported. A third-party access regime must be established to allow prosumers, or third parties, to access the grid.

• Insufficient infrastructure: Inadequate charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs), for example.

• Lack of access to finance: Both domestic access to bank loans and international access to climate finance are lagging behind because of the length of time needed to develop proposals.

• Technology costs: Costs of some technologies are still very high, especially carbon capture and storage and energy storage systems.

“The government should fill the gaps that corporations cannot meet in terms of infrastructure development and improve carbon credit accreditation to meet international standards,” said Kannika Thampanishvong, a section head at the Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.

On the entrepreneurial side, more than 500 people from several industries in Thailand have advised Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to drive Thailand towards a low-carbon society based on the country’s context, strong points and weak points.

Thai industries have outlined suggestions in four areas:

• Collaboration on a Saraburi Sandbox: Sustainable development in Saraburi is challenging because tourism, agriculture and industrial operations must be developed together to make it liveable and generate revenue.

• Accelerating the circular economy as a national agenda: The government must work on carbon dioxide reduction, set up key performance indicators and create an ecosystem to support the circular economy.

• Unlock limitations to shift clean and sustainable energy: The government should open grid modernisation to enable people to access low-carbon energy, develop energy storage to boost management efficiency, and promote the use of renewable energy.

• A ‘just’ transition: Create awareness among all groups of people and enable them to access funds without leaving anyone behind.

“We hope these suggestions will help boost the economy along with reducing carbon emissions in line with PM’s vision,” said Thammasak Sethaudom, the executive vice-president of SCG, a manufacturer serving the gas industry among others.

Thailand's effort against climate change

Despite emitting only 0.8% of the global greenhouse gas emission annually, Thailand is among countries severely affected by climate change.

Agriculture is suffering the effects of climate change more than any other sector, with an expected financial damage of up to 2.850 trillion baht to the Thai agriculture sector between 2011 and 2045.

To contribute to the movement against the biggest global challenge, Thailand has pledged to achieve its carbon neutrality goal by 2050, and net-zero carbon emission by 2065.

At COP28, Thailand called for increased international action to achieve the US$100 billion climate finance goal by 2025, claiming that the funding is crucial for aiding developing countries in reaching their climate goals.

The country also underscored its updated National Adaptation Plan (NAP), which addresses climate change impacts in critical areas, such as water management, agriculture, and public health.

Thailand aims to peak its emissions by 2025 and increase renewable energy use in electricity to 68% by 2040 and 74% by 2050. A climate-smart rice farming project, funded by the Green Climate Fund, is now underway to promote low-emission farming.

“The Thai government is pushing for changes in the agricultural sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while strengthening food stability,” said Environment Minister Phatcharavat Wongsuwan.

Phatcharavat told the meeting that Thailand is also drafting its first Climate Change Act to regulate emissions and enhance climate resilience.

Good progress, but more needed

Thailand needs to accelerate to mitigate climate change impacts on people, said Environment Ministry permanent secretary Jatuporn Buruspat.

“Thailand has already reduced 32% of greenhouse gas emission, better than other ASEAN countries," he said.

However, Thailand can perform better with financial support from other countries and public participation as the journey towards net-zero carbon emission will become more difficult.

In 2050, Thailand needs to reduce 60% of greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve its net-zero carbon emissions goal.

The Environment Ministry permanent secretary also emphasised that encouraging the public sector to deal with climate change is vital to accelerate the net-zero achievement.