I. INTRODUCTION
1. The Clean Technology Fund (CTF) 1 Investment Plan (IP) is a “business plan” owned by the Government of Thailand (GoT) in agreement with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The objective of the Plan is to support the lowcarbon objectives contained in the Tenth National Economic and Social Development Plan 2007-2011 (TNESDP), the National Strategy on Climate Change Management (2007-2012) (NSCCM), the Fifteen-Year Alternative Energy Development Plan (2008-2022) (AEDP), Transport for Thailand’s Sustainable Development, and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Action Plan on Global Warming Mitigation 2007-2012. This multi-year business plan identifies the proposed programs to be co-financed by the CTF jointly with the IBRD, ADB and IFC. The IP is to be presented to the CTF Trust Fund Committee in December 2009.
2. The IP is considered a dynamic document, with the flexibility to consider changing circumstances and new opportunities. Such flexibility is particularly important during the current period of uncertainty associated with the current global economic conditions and financial markets. In addition, some of the programs proposed for financial support by the CTF have not yet been fully defined. Some programs presented in the annexes to the IP will be further refined over the coming year, and additional programs may be added and presented for CTF consideration in the form of an updated Investment Plan. Some internal reallocation of CTF funds may also be proposed based on further analysis and country’s evolving circumstances and/or needs.
II. COUNTRY AND SECTOR CONTEXTS
3. Thailand is one of the foremost development success stories in Asia, with decades of sustained growth and impressive poverty reduction. In the decade that ended in 1995, the Thai economy was one of the world’s fastest-growing at an average rate of 8-9 percent a year. After recovering from the Asian Crisis of 1997-1998, the Thai economy took off again, with growth averaging 5.7 percent in the period 2002-2006. As a result of this sustained growth, poverty fell from 42.0 percent in 1988 to 8.5 percent in 2007. Recently, however, Thailand’s economic growth has been slowed because of weak private consumption and investment demand, due to political uncertainty as well as the current global financial crisis. This deceleration in growth threatens some of the recent poverty 1 The Clean Technology Fund (CTF) invests in projects and programs that contribute to the demonstration,
deployment and transfer of low carbon technologies with a significant potential for long-term greenhouse gas emissions savings. The CTF Trust Fund Committee oversees the operations of the Fund. The World Bank (IBRD) is the Trustee of the Fund. 5 reduction gains. The country’s key energy use indicators from 1996 to 2007 are presented in Annex 1.
4. The benefits of this success have not been shared equally in Thailand, with some regions—particularly, the rural south and northeast—lagging behind the rest of the country. Although these regional disparities are a natural part of the development process, the challenge for the authorities is to promote inclusive development through economic integration.2 This will mean developing policies and programs to connect the fast growing urban areas with lagging regions and to target interventions toward the poorest areas of the country.
5. Thailand’s emissions have been steadily increasing, placing Thailand among the top 25 GHG emitting countries. Between 1994 and 2003 Thailand’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions grew from 286 MtCO2e to 344 MtCO2e - an annual rate of about 2 percent.3 More recently, with continued economic expansion, a growing population, and increased dependence on more carbon-intensive fossil fuels, GHG emissions continue to grow. Particularly, GHG emissions growth from fossil fuel source has been growing at three percent per annum, mostly in the form of petroleum products (See Figure 1). According to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy, energy-related GHG emissions of 272 MtCO2e in 2006 placed Thailand as 24th among the World’s largest GHG emitters.
deployment and transfer of low carbon technologies with a significant potential for long-term greenhouse gas emissions savings. The CTF Trust Fund Committee oversees the operations of the Fund. The World Bank (IBRD) is the Trustee of the Fund. 5 reduction gains. The country’s key energy use indicators from 1996 to 2007 are presented in Annex 1.
4. The benefits of this success have not been shared equally in Thailand, with some regions—particularly, the rural south and northeast—lagging behind the rest of the country. Although these regional disparities are a natural part of the development process, the challenge for the authorities is to promote inclusive development through economic integration.2 This will mean developing policies and programs to connect the fast growing urban areas with lagging regions and to target interventions toward the poorest areas of the country.
5. Thailand’s emissions have been steadily increasing, placing Thailand among the top 25 GHG emitting countries. Between 1994 and 2003 Thailand’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions grew from 286 MtCO2e to 344 MtCO2e - an annual rate of about 2 percent.3 More recently, with continued economic expansion, a growing population, and increased dependence on more carbon-intensive fossil fuels, GHG emissions continue to grow. Particularly, GHG emissions growth from fossil fuel source has been growing at three percent per annum, mostly in the form of petroleum products (See Figure 1). According to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy, energy-related GHG emissions of 272 MtCO2e in 2006 placed Thailand as 24th among the World’s largest GHG emitters.
6. The largest contributors to Thailand’s GHG emission are the electricity generation and transport sectors. In 2006 more than a third (37 percent) of GHG emissions stemmed from the energy sector. The second largest GHG emission contributor was the transport sector (26 percent). The manufacturing sector accounted for almost another quarter (23 percent) of emissions, followed by the residential and commercial sectors (See Table 1).
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| Leapfrog development and urban sprawl can be seen in this photo of Bangkok , Thailand taken by UweBKK (α 550 on ) |
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| A busy street of Bangkok, photo by Ray_from_LA |
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