The transport sector in Thailand made up 29% of the country’s total direct CO₂ emissions and had the second highest share in primary energy demand of 36%.20 Energy consumption of this sector has increased steadily since 1990, growing by around 40% between 2010–2019.
Thailand’s transport sector is dominated by fossil fuels (92% in 2019), mainly oil (86%).20 In all our analysed scenarios, fossil energy demand from the transport sector peaks by 2019 and declines thereafter. A Paris Agreement compatible pathway requires a rapid electrification of the transport sector, reaching a 13–43% share of the sector’s final energy demand by 2050.
Thailand has adopted several policies in the transport sector to reduce emissions, including an electric vehicle roadmap and a goal for 100% of new vehicle sales to be EVs by 2035.37 In 2021, Thailand’s National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee announced that 30% of vehicles produced in Thailand will be zero-emission by 2030.38 In addition, Thailand provides tax benefits for battery manufacturing and supplies. Earlier Thailand had a biofuel blending mandate of 10% which has now been lowered to 7%.39 To enhance mass transit systems, the government is adopting policies with integrated development plan for rail, public transport and water transport.36
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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).
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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.
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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).
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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 transport sector
petajoule per year
- Natural gas
- Coal
- Oil and e-fuels
- Biomass
- Biogas
- Biofuel
- Electricity
- Heat
- Hydrogen
Thailandʼs transport sector direct CO₂ emissions (of energy demand)
MtCO₂/yr
- Historical emissions
- High energy demand - Low CDR reliance
- SSP1 Low CDR reliance
- SSP1 High CDR reliance
- Low energy demand
1.5°C compatible transport sector benchmarks
Direct CO₂ emissions and shares of electricity, biofuels and hydrogen in the transport final energy demand from illustrative 1.5°C pathways for Thailand
Indicator | 2019 | 2030 | 2040 | 2050 | Decarbonised transport sector by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Direct CO₂ emissions MtCO₂/yr | 74 | 39 to 51 | 22 to 30 | 7 to 13 | 2055 to 2058 |
Relative to reference year in % | −46 to −31% | −71 to −60% | −90 to −83% |
Indicator | 2019 | 2030 | 2040 | 2050 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Share of electricity Percent | 0 | 1 to 6 | 8 to 14 | 13 to 43 |
Share of biofuels Percent | 8 | 18 to 21 | 14 to 30 | 18 to 51 |
Share of hydrogen Percent | 0 | 1 to 20 | 22 to 57 | 40 to 69 |