Thailand has submitted its latest nationally determined contribution (NDC) — climate plan — to UN climate body the UNFCCC, which indicates it has set an absolute emissions cap for 2035, and brought forward its net zero emissions target.
Thailand submitted its third NDC on 4 November, under which it aims to reduce its net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 152mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) by 2035, which represents a 47pc reduction compared to 2019 levels. It aims to implement this over January 2031-December 2035.
The country has also pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, bringing its target forward by 15 years compared to its previous NDC.
Under its second NDC, Thailand had pledged to reduce its GHG emissions by 30pc from the projected business-as-usual level of 555mn t of CO2e by 2030, and it had aimed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero emissions by 2065.
The country's latest NDC is an economy-wide absolute emissions reduction target, and covers five sectors — energy, industrial processes and product use (IPPU), agriculture, land use, land use change and forestry, and waste.
Thailand estimates it requires $6.11bn by 2035 to advance the energy transition through the green energy, green transportation and green industries. For other sectors including IPPU, agriculture and waste, Thailand estimates it requires an additional $940mn. This brings total estimated investment required to $7.05bn by 2035.
One of the main challenges Thailand faces is that it relies heavily on international finance to achieve its climate goals, the country stated in its NDC document. Thailand is "actively pursuing domestic financing strategies, exploring public and private investment, alongside bilateral and multilateral international finance," it stated.
Thailand relied on fossil fuels for more than 80pc of its electricity in 2024, according to data from think-tank Ember. Its revised power development plan (RPDP), which it released in 2024, aims to raise renewable energy generation to 33pc of the power mix by 2030 and 51pc by 2037. The RPDP entails phasing out 8GW of net fossil fuel capacity, and adding 50GW of renewables and 14GW of storage capacity.
Thailand has signed bilateral agreements on carbon credits under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement with countries such as Switzerland, Japan and Singapore. Under its latest NDC, it is considering the use of internationally transferred mitigation outcomes.
The country is also exploring carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), with state-owned energy firm PTTEP making a final investment decision on its Arthit CCS project in September. The Arthit CCS project is Thailand's first CCS initiative and it is designed to capture and store 1mn t/yr of CO2. Operations are expected to begin in 2028, and 10bn baht ($320mn) is being invested into the project.
