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Total national greenhouse gas emissions as a percentage of global total

“World Resources Institute estimates show that Thailand emits 1.13 percent of the world’s net increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases.”

(See TDRI Quarterly Reveiw: The Basis for Thailand’s Response Strategies to Global Warming.)

 

Historical contribution – 1850 to 2000

< 1%

Change in annual greenhouse gas emissions since 1990 

“The emissions of carbon dioxide in Thailand have shown an increasing trend in recent decades, rising from 1.6 tons per year in 990 to 4.3 tons per capita per year in 2004. Although the emissions dropped following the 997-998 financial crisis, they started climbing again from 999 through 2007.”

(See Bangkok State of the Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Baseline Inventory and Projects.)

According to the Thai Minister of Science and Technology:

“… the major sources of Thailand’s greenhouse gas emissions arise from changing land-use pattern and from increased energy consumption. Deforestation for other use has led to a drastic drop in the amount of carbon stored in standing biomass and soils. Thailand lost forest area very rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s – about 3 percent annually. Fortunately, the current trend shows a slowed rate of deforestation, due to the logging ban in 1988. Rice farming also contributed to global warming through methane production. However, the main source of greenhouse gas emissions is in energy conversion and consumption processes which produce a large amount of carbon dioxide. Thailand’s energy consumption increased at the rate of 4.6 percent per annum during 1981-1986, and rose sharply to 8.4 percent during 1986-88. The projections to the year 2011 indicate that the country’s energy consumption will grow at an annual rate of about 6 percent, implying an increasing amount of carbon dioxide emissions. In the foreseeable future, the carbon added to the atmosphere will come mainly from the burning of fossil fuels by the industrial, power, and transportation sectors.”

(See The Nation: Carbon Accounting.)

 2005 per capita annual greenhouse gas emissions 

5.6 tonnes

Energy used per unit of GDP (compared to USA)

94%

Balance of energy sources, 2007

	%
Oil	40
Gas	27
Renewables*	18
Coal	13.5
Hdro	0.7

* Primarily firewood.

Energy security

Thailand is an oil producer, but consumes three times as much as it produces. It is also a gas producer, but consumes 50% more than it produces. It does not have large coal reserves:

 “Due to the economy’s limited indigenous energy resources, Thailand relies heavily on energy imports, importing 64 percent of total energy consumption in 2005 mainly in the form of oil.”

(See APEC Energy Demand and Supply Outlook 2006: Thailand.)

Electricity generated, 2007

	%
Gas	67.5
Coal	21.5
Hydro	5.7
Biomass	3
Oil	2.7

Electricity – supply and demand

According to the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre’s Energy Demand and Supply Outlook 2006:

“Strong economic growth will drive the commercial sector’s electricity demand, to grow annually at the fastest rate at 5.7 percent… The economy’s electricity generation is projected to increase annually at 5.5 percent…less than half the growth rate of 14.1 percent observed before the financial crisis in 1997…The economy’s installed generating capacity is expected to increase from 23 GW in 2002 to 91 GW in 2030. Coal is projected to have an increasing share as more coal-fired electricity generation plants are commissioned after 2015. Subsequently capacity of coal-fired electricity generation is expected to increase from 3 GW in 2002 to 26 GW in 2030.”

(See APEC Energy Demand and Supply Outlook 2006: Thailand.)

Percentage of agriculture certified as organic

0.07%