Rail Decarbonization in Thailand

1. Carbon Neutrality and Net Zero Emission Policies

Climate change is a phenomenon that countries must all face.  To reduce such impacts, it is necessary to control the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) released into earth’s atmosphere. The effort began with the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, which commits countries to reduce gas emissions on average by 5.2 % below the 1990 levels [1] and continuously increases this rate in the long term.  To fight against climate change, carbon neutrality and net zero emission are the two important policies adopted by policy makers. At the World Leaders Summit of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Thailand had declared that the country aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero GHG emissions by or before 2065 [2].

Carbon neutrality requires a balance between carbon emissions and carbon sink absorption [3].  The process begins by cutting down CO₂ emissions as much as possible first before investing in offset programs by utilizing carbon credits. The offsets can be accomplished by funding carbon offset projects, such as planting trees, making investments in renewable energy, and increasing energy efficiency [4]. Figure 1 illustrates common approaches towards carbon neutrality and net zero emissions.

Fig. 1 Common Approaches for Carbon Neutrality and Net Zeron Emissions

           Net zero emissions, similar in principle to carbon neutrality, refers to more than just the removal of carbon (CO₂) emission; it includes all GHG emissions, such as methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and other hydrofluorocarbons.  When there are net zero emissions, the total amount of GHG released into the atmosphere and the amount of GHG withdrawn from it are equal [5].

Carbon neutrality is the first step to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the short term, while net zero emissions will require more significant changes to energy systems and consuming behavior. Carbon neutrality can be achieved by four basic steps:

1. Measure carbon footprint to understand where emissions come from and how to reduce them.

2. Set goals to reduce the emissions

3. Reduce the emissions by switching to renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency, and reducing use of fossil fuels

4. Offset the remaining emissions through purchasing carbon credits after reaching reduction limits.

2. Carbon Credits

A carbon credit is a unit of measurement that represents 1,000 kilograms of CO₂ theoretically removed or prevented from reaching the atmosphere [6].  A carbon credit, also known as carbon allowance [7], is a tradable instrument that can be sold at auction or directly given to an emitting source. The issuance of carbon credits in Thailand is facilitated by the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO).  TGO is an autonomous governmental organization under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Its primary mandate entails the formulation and execution of Thailand’s carbon credit system [8].

3. Thailand’s GHG Emissions

When analyzing the effects of various greenhouse gases on climate change, carbon dioxide equivalent or CO₂ equivalent (CO₂eq), a unit of measurement, is used to compare GHG emissions by global warming potential (GWP).  GWP measures how much a greenhouse gas contributes to global warming over a certain period, relative to carbon dioxide.  In 2016, Thailand emitted 354.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂eq), which is equivalent to 0.5% of global emissions. Thailand’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) has made a firm commitment to reduce its GHG emissions by 20% by the year 2030, in contrast to a level of business as usual [9,10].

4. Thailand’s Rail Decarbonization

          To meet the 20% GHG reduction, Thailand’s NDC has set a target to reduce GHG in the transport sector by 41 MtCO2eq [11]. This objective is based on two primary measures:

1.measures to increase energy efficiency, which include changing travel patterns, such as promoting the use of mass transit/public transportation and high-speed electric train between cities. This is expected to reduce emissions by 31 MtCO₂eq.

2. measures to promote the use of biofuels for vehicles, which are expected to reduce emissions by 10 MtCO₂eq.

          To achieve Thailand’s NDC target, the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and planning (OTP) has presented a plan based on three approaches to reduce GHG emissions in the rail sector by 6.352 MtCO₂eq [12]. The first one is expected to be reduced by 0.9 MtCO₂eq due to transit-oriented development. The second one should go down by 5.42 MtCO₂eq by building up the infrastructure needed to support the change to the rail transport system.  The last one is anticipated to decrease by 0.032 MtCO₂eq due to enhancing vehicle efficiency implemented by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).  In addition, the Department of Rail Transport (DRT) has planned to adopt various schemes to reduce both GHG and air pollution in the rail sector. These include using locomotives with low- or zero emissions, gathering realistic data on the reduction of GHG emissions in relation to rail infrastructure investments and rail operations, and developing a mechanism for converting rail operators’ GHG reductions to carbon credits.

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References

[1] Kyoto Protocol https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/MEMO_04_43

[2] Thailand Commits to Climate Action Goals https://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG231007121128515

[3] What Is Carbon Neutrality and How Can It Be Achieved by 2050? https://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en

[4] Carbon Neutrality vs. Net Zero What Difference https://www.pier.or.th/blog/2022/0301

[5] What Is NET Zero? https://netzeroclimate.org/what-is-net-zero-2/

[6] Carbon Credit https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/carbon-credit

[7] The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Carbon Credits https://carboncredits.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-understanding-carbon-credits/#1

[8] Putting A Price On Carbon – An Efficient Way For Thailand to Meet Its Bold Emission Target https://www.iea.org/articles/putting-a-price-on-carbon-an-efficient-way-for-thailand-to-meet-its-bold-emission-target

[9] Thailand: Asia and the Pacific-NDC Status https://climatepromise.undp.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/thailand

[10] Thailand’s Updated Nationally Determined Contribution https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/NDC/2022-06/Thailand%20Updated%20NDC.pdf

[11] Thailand’s Nationally Determined Contribution Roadmap on Mitigation 2021 – 2030 http://www.oic.go.th/FILEWEB/CABINFOCENTER38/DRAWER027/GENERAL/DATA0000/00000853.PDF

[12] National Greenhouse Gas Reduction Action Plan 2021-2030 in Transportation Sector https://climate.onep.go.th/