Thailand’s building sector represented 19% of final energy consumption in 2019, with the share of commercial and residential sectors being 6% and 12.5%, respectively.20 The building sector of Thailand accounts for half of the country’s electricity consumption, with a trend that shows an increase of around 16% between 2015 and 2019.20
1.5°C compatible pathways show that the share of electricity in Thailand’s building sector final energy demand would need to reach 74–87% by 2030, and 90–97% by 2050 under different scenarios, from its 2019 level of 58%. All scenarios see a rapid decline in emissions intensity of the building sector, driven mostly by energy efficiency improvements, and an increasing electrification rate with a high share of renewables in the power mix.
All analysed scenarios show a rapid decline in the demand for solid biomass, reaching 0–13% by 2050. The share of fossil fuels in final energy demand which was 17% in 2019, is shown to peak in 2019 and decline after that.
Thailand’s Energy Efficiency Plan (EEP 2018) came into force in 2021 and includes a Building Energy Code (BEC) for new or retrofitted buildings with a total area of over 5,000m2 in 2022 and from 2023 to also smaller ones.31,31 The BEC also covers appliances such as lighting and air-conditioning. Thailand also has Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for equipment, appliances, buildings and vehicles.31 Under the EEP 2018, the buildings (commercial and residential) sector is expected to conserve a cumulative 9,718 ktoe of energy between 2010–2037.8
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2 Climate Action Tracker. Thailand. September 2021 update. Climate Action Tracker. (2021).
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4 Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Thailand Third Biennial Update Report. (2020).
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11 Luangchosiri, N., Ogawa, T., Okumura, H. & Ishihara, K. N. Success Factors for the Implementation of Community Renewable Energy in Thailand. Energies 2021, Vol. 14, Page 4203 14, 4203 (2021).
12 Campbell, I. & Barlow, C. Hydropower Development and the Loss of Fisheries in the Mekong River Basin. Front Environ Sci 8, 200 (2020).
13 Ministry of Energy. Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP) 2018. (2018).
14 IEA. Putting a price on carbon – an efficient way for Thailand to meet its bold emission target. International Energy Agency (2020).
15 APERC. Compendium Of Energy Efficiency Policies in APEC Economies: Thailand. (2017).
16 Government of Kingdom of Thailand. Mid-century, Long-term Low Greenhouse Gas Emission Development Strategy (2021).
17 Nama Facility. Thailand – Thai Rice NAMA. Nama Facility.
18 Government of the Kingdom of Thailand. Thailand’s 2nd Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). (2022).
19 Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Climate Change Master Plan of Thailand. (2015).
20 International Energy Agency. Thailand – Countries & Regions – IEA. (2021).
21 Greenpeace. Southeast Asia Power Sector Scorecard. (2020).
22 EGAT. EGAT Overview. (2020).
23 EGAT. Why does EGAT plan to build more coal-fired power plants when other Asian countries like China and India suspend new ones? Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (2020).
24 Kusumadewi, T. V., Winyuchakrit, P., Misila, P. & Limmeechokchai, B. GHG Mitigation in Power Sector: Analyzes of Renewable Energy Potential for Thailand’s NDC Roadmap in 2030. Energy Procedia 138, 69–74 (2017).
25 Smuthkalin, C., Murayama, T. & Nishikizawa, S. Evaluation of The Wind Energy Potential of Thailand considering its Environmental and Social Impacts using Geographic Information Systems. International Journal of Renewable Energy Research (IJRER) 8, 575–584 (2018).
26 Manomaiphiboon, K. et al. Wind energy potential analysis for Thailand: Uncertainty from wind maps and sensitivity to turbine technology. 14, 528–539 (2017).
27 Kompor, W., Ekkawatpanit, C. & Kositgittiwong, D. Assessment of ocean wave energy resource potential in Thailand. Ocean Coast Manag 160, 64–74 (2018).
28 Climate Action Tracker. Paris Agreement Compatible Sectoral Benchmarks: Elaborating the decarbonisation roadmap. Climate Action Tracker. (2020).
29 Thailand Government. Thailand’s Long Term Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions Development Strategy. (2022).
30 DEDE. Thailand Economy Update. (2020).
31 EGS-plan. Thailand’s Building Energy Code (BEC) enters into force as from 13th March 2021. (2021).
32 Gütschow, J., Günther, A. & Pflüger, M. The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series v2.3 (1750-2019). Preprint at doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5175154 (2021).
33 Wongsapai, W. Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Target. (2017).
34 EPPO. Energy Conservation Promotion Act. (2007).
35 Electrive. Thailand to only allow BEV sales from 2035 – electrive.com. Electrive. (2021).
36 Thailand Development Research Institute. Clean energy needs far clearer policy. (2022).
37 USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Thailand: Updated Biofuel Situation in 2022. (2022).
38 While global cost-effective pathways assessed by the IPCC Special Report 1.5°C provide useful guidance for an upper-limit of emissions trajectories for developed countries, they underestimate the feasible space for such countries to reach net zero earlier. The current generation of models tend to depend strongly on land-use sinks outside of currently developed countries and include fossil fuel use well beyond the time at which these could be phased out, compared to what is understood from bottom-up approaches. The scientific teams which provide these global pathways constantly improve the technologies represented in their models – and novel CDR technologies are now being included in new studies focused on deep mitigation scenarios meeting the Paris Agreement. A wide assessment database of these new scenarios is not yet available; thus, we rely on available scenarios which focus particularly on BECCS as a net-negative emission technology. Accordingly, we do not yet consider land-sector emissions (LULUCF) and other CDR approaches.
Thailandʼs energy mix in the buildings sector
petajoule per year
- Natural gas
- Coal
- Oil and e-fuels
- Biofuel
- Biogas
- Biomass
- Hydrogen
- Electricity
- Heat
Thailandʼs buildings sector direct CO₂ emissions (of energy demand)
MtCO₂/yr
- Historical emissions
- High energy demand - Low CDR reliance
- Low energy demand
1.5°C compatible buildings sector benchmarks
Direct CO₂ emissions and shares of electricity, heat and biomass in the buildings final energy demand from illustrative 1.5°C pathways for Thailand
Indicator | 2019 | 2030 | 2040 | 2050 | Decarbonised buildings sector by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Direct CO₂ emissions MtCO₂/yr | 7 | 5 to 6 | 1 to 3 | 1 | 2037 |
Relative to reference year in % | −18 to −17% | −82 to −51% | −86 to −80% |
Indicator | 2019 | 2030 | 2040 | 2050 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Share of electricity Percent | 58 | 74 to 87 | 90 to 97 | 96 to 98 |
Share of heat Percent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Share of hydrogen Percent | 0 | 0 to 1 | 0 to 4 | 0 to 3 |