Despite an unimpressive end to COP29, the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference held in Baku, Azerbaijan, Thailand remains committed to its campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, with a view to accelerating its progress.
During the conference, many participants expressed disappointment over the emergence of a new agreement to provide financial support to help developing countries adapt to the impact of climate change, though they are still required to carry on efforts to combat global warming.
Thailand is among the countries that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Chalermchai Sri-on, who attended the conference held from Nov 11-22.
Mr Chalermchai said it is a race against time to achieve the nation's carbon neutrality goal, strengthening the country's ongoing efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.
A sentence written in Thai by a participant at an Environmental Day event reads, "blanket a mountain with trees". Pornprom Satrabhaya
COP CHALLENGES
Thailand pledged to strike a balance between CO2 emissions and absorption by 2050 at COP26 and, despite the limited financial aid approved at COP29, the country vowed to take stronger action to reach the goal.
Former premier Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed in 2021 at COP26 that Thailand would be more aggressive in addressing climate change, striving to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, along with a net-zero target, a balance between greenhouse gas emissions and absorption, by 2065.
Having a sufficient budget is necessary for campaigns to promote eco-friendly businesses, said Mr Chalermchai.
In the energy sector, the shift to green technologies such as solar power plants with energy storage systems is costly.
If renewable energy development projects in developing countries are financed by developed countries, the former countries are more likely to attain carbon neutral and net-zero targets, said Chaya Chandavasu, senior executive vice-president for corporate strategy at national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc.
But at COP29, which was dominated by discussions related to finance and funding, industrialised countries only committed annual funding worth US$300 billion for financial assistance to developing countries.
Financing projects to address the threats posed by climate change requires a much more substantial budget as the impact of climate change is escalating, according to analysts.
Global climate finance not only helps developing countries better deal with the losses and damage caused by severe floods and droughts attributed to global warming, but also helps them implement projects aimed at trying to curtail the rise in temperatures worldwide.
At COP21, held in Paris in 2015, participants agreed to speed up efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C higher than pre-industrial levels, a goal formally documented in the Paris Agreement.
Without more strenuous efforts to curb CO2 emissions, especially those generated by economic activities, global temperatures are expected to exceed the 1.5°C uptick in less than a decade, said Anothai Sangthong of Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO), citing the sixth assessment report on scientific information on climate change by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
At COP28, held in 2023 in Dubai, participants expressed concern that the temperature target listed in the Paris Agreement may not be achieved.
Participants stressed the need for developed countries to financially support plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are typically costly, said Pavich Kesavawong, deputy director-general of the Department of Climate Change and Environment.
Developed countries have the ability to fund projects that can make developing nations less dependent on fossil fuels, which are known to produce high levels of CO2 emissions.
Developing nations could use financial assistance to invest in R&D of clean energy technologies as well as the transition to renewables, such as solar and wind power.
Vehicles wait at a traffic light at the Asok intersection in Bangkok. The state and private sectors are stepping up efforts to cut carbon dioxide in the transport sector. Nutthawat Wichieanbut
INTENSIFYING EFFORTS
The concerns raised at COP28 caused Thailand to set a more ambitious target for its greenhouse gas reduction campaign, ranging from ways to measure greenhouse gas emissions to various plans to reduce fossil fuel usage.
Mr Chalermchai announced during COP29 that Thailand would take stronger action by reducing up to 270 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
The target is stated in the nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which outline action plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Each country is required to submit an NDC 3.0, referring to the third generation of NDCs, to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by February 2025.
Thailand sent its NDC 2.0 to the UNFCCC in 2022, pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below the business-as-usual level by 2030. The results depend on financial support and technology transfer, said Mr Chalermchai.
The Department of Climate Change and Environment said earlier it expects the country can achieve the 40% goal, amounting to a reduction of 222 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, with an additional 3% reduction projected via international carbon credit trade.
Companies wanting to control their CO2 emissions first need to know how much CO2 they emit through their operations.
The TGO wants businesses to measure their emissions to better plan campaigns against global warming, while individuals need to be educated on the quantity of greenhouse gases that are generated by their daily activities.
The organisation developed "NetZero Man", a mobile app people can download to measure their personal carbon footprint on a daily basis, said Ms Anothai.
Users enter data on how they travel to work, what food they consume daily and how much their electric bills cost per month. This information is used to calculate how much CO2 each user generates.
The results could encourage people to adjust their daily activities to be kinder to the environment, she said.
More than 50,000 people downloaded NetZero Man in 2024, said Ms Anothai.
For the first six months of 2024, the daily activities of households and businesses in Thailand generated 122 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, a year-on-year decrease of 2.5%, according to media reports, citing statistics from the Energy Policy and Planning Office.
Though emissions from the power sector rose by 5.8% during this six-month period, the transport and manufacturing sectors recorded decreases of 16.8% and 1.2%, respectively.
CO2 emissions produced by households and agriculture also fell by 1.5% year-on-year during the period.
School chairs at Panghud Sahasart School in Wiang Kaen district in Chiang Rai after flash floods swept through the area, causing severe damage. Patipat Janthong
FOCUS ON EMISSIONS
The focus on greenhouse gas emissions is expected to intensify this year as the government is preparing to enforce the Climate Change Act.
The law aims to shift from voluntary greenhouse gas declarations listed in annual reports of listed companies to authorising state agencies to request data on greenhouse gas emissions from specific industries to formally assess their carbon footprints.
The legislation also proposes establishment of a Climate Change Fund to provide financial support for projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon pricing mechanisms such as the Emission Trading System and a carbon tax.
"The Climate Change Act will clarify measures for emissions and financial assistance regulations," said Mr Pavich.
"The law will also deal with greenwashing by some businesses, which refers to exaggerated or false claims of sustainability campaigns, as well as entrepreneurs who only buy carbon credits without seriously trying to cut their CO2 emissions."
Carbon credits refer to the amount of CO2 emissions reduced through environmental projects, including clean energy development and environmentally friendly businesses. Credits can be sold to other companies to offset the carbon dioxide they release into the atmosphere.
High-voltage electricity cables in Pathum Thani. Carbon dioxide emissions in the power sector remain a major concern. Pattanapong Hirunard