Thailand has made substantial progress in reducing carbon emissions and has set a target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, says the Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE).
Phirun Saiyasitpanich, DCCE director-general, said Thailand, as a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), recently submitted its First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1) to the UNFCCC secretariat.
The report outlines Thailand's progress in combating climate change, highlighting actions taken to meet global climate commitments and enabling access to technology, expertise, and international funding.
Thailand, the report said, emitted 278,039.73 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (ktCO₂eq) of greenhouse gases, including emissions from forestry and land use, and 385,941.14 ktCO₂eq excluding these sectors.
The country reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 60.33 MtCO₂eq in 2021 and 65.23 MtCO₂eq in 2022, aligning with its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Thailand has achieved 30.4% of its NDC target compared to business-as-usual (BAU) projections, as stipulated under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement. Mr Phirun emphasised the need to raise this target to 40% in the near future to mitigate the risks of global warming.
In a significant milestone, Thailand transferred 1,916 tCO₂eq of international carbon credits, marking its first year of such transfers.
The report also highlighted pilot projects in six fields across six provinces to combat climate change. To date, Thailand has received USD $1.1 billion (38.6 billion baht) in international financial support to develop and distribute climate-related technologies.
To achieve its 2050 carbon neutrality goal and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065, Thailand must address emissions from key sectors such as energy, transport, industry, and agriculture.
