The Role of Government and Policy Elevation to Achieve Thailand’s Net Zero Goals

Abstract

              Thailand is confronting significant challenges in transitioning to a low-carbon economy to achieve its Net Zero target by 2050. The country is advancing a pilot Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in collaboration with PTT Group in the Upper Gulf of Thailand. However, consultations among stakeholders across all sectors have revealed critical structural bottlenecks impeding this transition, including the absence of clear national leadership, the technology-taker trap, a carbon-intensive industrial structure, policy uncertainty, and limited access to financing. Key recommendations to address these challenges include elevating the transition to a national agenda with leadership at the Prime Minister level, designing a carbon pricing mechanism that reinvests revenues into essential infrastructure, and integrating Green Transition as the core framework of the 14^th National Economic and Social Development Plan. This crisis presents a pivotal opportunity for Thailand to transform from a technology taker to a technology maker in promising green industries such as Bio-Energy with CCS (BECCS) and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), thereby creating a new sustainable economic growth curve for the nation.