Germany, Thailand launch TGC EMC project for climate change collaboration 

This collaborative endeavour aims to reinforce Thailand's pursuit of carbon neutrality. 

The official launch event of TGC EMC was attended by more than 200 participants including representatives from government agencies, academic institutions, international organisations, the private sector and the media.

The project kick-off event enjoyed support from the project's political partners and technical team.

Funded by the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany (BMWK) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), the Thai-German Cooperation on Energy, Mobility and Climate (TGC EMC) aims to empower key actors in Thailand to plan and implement transformative activities in the energy, transport, industry and biomass sectors in line with the Government’s 2050 carbon neutrality objective.

Additionally, the project will provide significant support in the field of climate finance. The Thai Climate Finance Initiative (ThaiCI), as part of the TGC EMC project, will provide seed funding to a number of local projects along with capacity development.

Ernst Reichel, Ambassador of Germany to Thailand, commented on the multisectoral and interdisciplinary approach of the project, saying, “The integration of the renewable energy, transport, industry, and biomass sectors is necessary and needs to be achieved before the assessment and exploration of innovative technological solutions are piloted and rolled out for implementation. In addition, with the ThaiCI component, TGC EMC will establish a long-term financing instrument to sustain and multiply the impact of the programme by fostering mitigation and adaptation projects in various fields of this greatly needed action.” 

Philipp Behrens, Head of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) Division, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany (BMWK), underlined the significance of TGC EMC, one of IKI’s flagship bilateral cooperation projects, noting, “TGC EMC is more than a mitigation project. It provides us with a collaboration platform for analysing, further developing, piloting, and upscaling transition pathways.” 

Pavich Kesavawong, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Climate Change and Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, highlighted the approach of TGC EMC that aims to support the sectors by building a strong foundation of knowledge. He anticipated that the kick-off event would allow for closer cooperation and greater integration between all sectors, contributing to the country’s climate action goals.

Natee Sithiprasasana, Director and Secretary of the Climate Change Institute, Federation of Thai Industries, outlined in his keynote speech titled “Energy transition with sector integration for carbon neutrality in 2050”, the role of the political partners in building integration between sectors and how sector integration can support the country’s energy transition to and contribute to the carbon neutrality and net-zero targets.  

The event also featured a panel discussion on “City Lab – Sector Integration for Solutions Driving Energy Transition”, by experts from the public and private sectors.

The panellists discussed the requirements of Thailand's energy transition and the priority factors that Thailand has to consider to effectively accelerate the transition towards clean energy.

As the event drew to a close, Reinhold Elges, Country Director of GIZ Thailand, expressed his gratitude to the partner organisations, whose engagement in the project plays a crucial role in fostering fruitful collaboration.

He placed particular emphasis on the long-standing cooperation between Germany and Thailand through a multitude of projects implemented by GIZ, which reflect the shared commitment to climate protection to ensure a sustainable future for everyone.