Thailand drafting zero-carbon emissions master plan
Thailand is drafting a national master plan to turn its goal of achieving zero net carbon emissions into reality. It will present the document at the next United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in November.
The Thai government is collaborating with the private sector to create the master plan: Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment are working with SCG, or Siam Cement Group, the region’s largest building materials conglomerate, which has made sustainability a core part of its corporate policy.
Under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, Thailand has pledged to reduce emissions of all greenhouse gasses, including carbon, by 20 to 25 percent by 2030 under a business-as-usual scenario. The master plan Thailand is working on now is specific to carbon.
The plan proposes changing Thailand’s fuel mix in power generation to lower carbon, or CO2, by building up the electrical vehicle (EV) industry and managing waste through the model for bio, circular and green (BCG) economy.
SCG has been championing the circular economy in Thailand. The company has been building roads made with recycled plastics and drastically reducing its production and use of plastics, along with many other measures to conserve and recycle resources.
Thailand is already the largest producer of solar and wind power in Southeast Asia. The government has made promoting and investing in electric and next-generation vehicles a priority industry under its national strategy.
The zero-carbon master plan includes support for goods made from low-carbon processes, smart projects on agricultural farms and metropolitan areas, and a carbon capture storage system.
The plan would set a peak target and a goal for net-zero emissions per year.
Photo courtesy of https://www.boi.go.th/un/advertorial9