Climate Change and Development Context
Despite facing a number of political challenges, Thailand has made great progress in economic areas, mainly in industrial development and manufacturing. However, there are some concerns about economic sustainability due to the impacts of climate change on the country, such as the severe drought in 2010 and the devastating floods in 2011. Furthermore, the country has also been threatened by rising sea levels which is evenident in coastal erosion. As a result, Thailand has started recognizing the negative consequences of climate change. The Government of Thailand is working on a framework and guidelines on climate change preparedness and adaptation as well as enhancing competitiveness and development toward a green economy and a low carbon society.
In 2009, Thailand released 254.88 million metric tons of CO2, ranked #23 out of 217 countries.[1] With per capita CO2 emissions of 3.80 metric tons per year, it is in the 3rd quartile globally. The Ministry of Energy responded by developing the 20-Year Energy Efficiency Development and the Alternative Energy Development Plan, aiming to increase the proportion of alternative energy to 15 percent of total energy use by 2021 and 20 percent by 2050, and targeting a GHG emission reduction of 25 percent in the energy sector by 2050. Meanwhile, the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) plans to mitigate emissions toward achievement of the national target through developing both domestic and internationally supported NAMAs that will link to a measurement, reporting, and veritification (MRV) system. The Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO), a public organization, has also developed voluntary domestic carbon markets called Thailand Verified Emissions Reduction program (T-VER) and Thailand Voluntary Emission Trading Scheme (T-VETS), with tentative launch dates in 2014. Thailand has already submitted the Second National Communication (NC2) to the UNFCCC.
Key National Institutions, Policies and Initiatives
Institutional arrangements related to climate change [2]
Thailand has established an internal structure in charge of development and implementation of climate change policy (see diagram below). The key institution is the National Climate Change Committee (NCCC), which acts as a policy making body on climate change issues. The NCCC is chaired by Prime Minister and vice-chaired by the Minister of Natural Resource and Environment (MONRE). The members are Permanent Secretaries (PS) of relevant ministries (Finance, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Cooperatives, Transport, Energy, Industry, Information and Communication Technology, Science and Technology, and Public Health). The Climate Change Coordinating Office (CCCO) serving as a secretariat of the NCCC is under ONEP, which is part of MONRE. ONEP is also responsible for developing national communication reports and serving as a national focal point for the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol engagement. In addition, TGO is a public organization operating as a designated national authority (DNA) to provide a range of technical resources and services to support carbon market actors specifically.
Diagram 1: Institutional arrangements related to climate change[2]
There are two main policies for development and implementation of climate change initiatives in Thailand. First, the current 11th National Economic and Social Development Plan (2012 – 2016) includes a green policy that calls for addressing climate change more rigorously and moving toward a low-carbon economy. Another one is the Climate Change Master Plan, a framework of integrated policies and action plans relating to climate change for all sectors. The plan for 2013-2019 is in process and will propose for the cabinet’s consideration by the National Climate Change Committee. The goal of the plan is to reduce GHG emissions and to transform the country into a sustainable low-carbon society in the next 40 years, by 2050. The plan includes three key strategies as follows:
Strategy 1: Adaptation for coping with the negative effects of climate change
Strategy 2: Mitigation of GHG emissions and increase of GHG sinks
Strategy 3: Strengthening the capacity of human resources and institutions and to manage the risks from the effects of climate change and cross cutting issues
Sources
Population, Land Area, and GDP: World Bank : http://data.worldbank.org/country/thailand
[1] Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources: Key challenges to Thailand CC adaptation, available at http://www.rid.go.th/thaicid/_5_article/7symposium/7th-13.pdf.
[2] Diagram avaialble at: http://www.thepmr.org/country/thailand-0
Notes on the Country Profiles
February 2014
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