(From left) Mr. Kodshayut Boriboonchatuporn, Deputy Governor—Powerplant Development of EGAT Mr. Shoke Na Ranong, Bangkok Bank’s Executive Vice President, Credit Card Department Mr. Amorn Suvachittanont, First Senior Vice President, Kasikorn Bank Mr. Seubphong Buranasirin, EGAT’s Deputy Governor—Corporate Social Affairs Ms. Pakachat Taychaburapanone, SCB Executive Vice President and Head of First Division and Prime Division Mrs. Charoonsri Srisukson, Executive Vice President Merchant Acquiring ‘KTC’ or Krungthai Card Public Company Limited and Mr. Tim Mahler, Country Director of GIZ Thailand

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 4 financial institutions to cooperate on a promotional campaign for domestic refrigerators that use climate-friendly natural refrigerants within the scope of the Thailand Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (RAC NAMA) project. This campaign is expected to help reduce energy consumption by 47 million units per year or 188 million baht and also lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 25,000 tons per year.

On February 20, 2018, Mr. Seubphong Buranasirin, EGAT’s Deputy Governor—Corporate Social Affairs chaired the MoU signing ceremony between EGAT and the 4 financial institutions who have joined forces on a new promotional campaign for fridges that use climate-friendly natural refrigerants. Implementing partners in the RAC NAMA project joined the ceremony at Kasem Chatikavanij Convention Hall, T.040 Building, EGAT Headquarters, among them the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) and the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE), as well as producers and retailers of label no.5 fridges.

Mr. Seubphong Buranasirin, EGAT’s Deputy Governor—Corporate Social Affairs noted that Thailand has set a GHG mitigation target of 20% by 2030, which was pledged at the 21^st Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change or COP 21 in Paris. To achieve this ambitious target for GHG reduction and to reach the target for energy consumption reduction according to the country’s Energy Efficiency Plan, GIZ in partnership with the Thai government namely ONEP, DEDE, and EGAT, are jointly implementing the RAC NAMA project to support climate-friendly and highly energy-efficient cooling technologies in Thailand. It particularly promotes the use of natural refrigerants with ultra-low Global Warming Potential (GWP) such as R600a. Under the project, the “RAC NAMA Fund” was established with EGAT as National Fund Recipient (NFR) and the Project Fund Manager (PFM) to implement the financial support mechanism within the scope of the project for the four main products: domestic refrigerators, commercial refrigerators, air-conditioners, and chillers.

“Accordingly, EGAT has entered into partnerships with financial institutions to promote the sales of domestic fridges that use natural refrigerants such as R600a, which are significantly more climate friendly and energy efficient compared to other synthetic refrigerants. EGAT is working with four financial institutions, namely Bangkok Bank (BBL), Kasikorn Bank (KBank), Siam Commercial Bank of Thailand (SCB), and Krungthai Card Public Company Limited (KTC) to provide installment payment plans with 0% interest for 10 months for selected fridges that have the energy efficiency label No. 5 and use refrigerant R600a. With a total of 11 selected trademarks and 339 models of fridges, the promotional campaign through the 4 aforementioned credit card companies is expected to result in a total sales figure of 300,000 fridges and help to reduce energy consumption by 47 million units per year or 188 million baht and also reduce GHG emissions at approximately 25,000 tons per year. Consumers will be able to receive more information from big and small dealers, retailers, and shops throughout the country. Participating shops will have “Green Refrigerant” stickers, which indicate their participation in this campaign. The campaign will roll out from March to May 2018 and potentially extend to other types of cooling products in the future,” Mr. Seubphong added.

Mr. Tim Mahler, GIZ Director Thailand, said that the RAC NAMA project is the first climate finance project in Thailand funded by the NAMA Facility, a joint initiative by the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Kingdom, to a total value of EUR 14.7 Million (approximately THB 565 million). The objective is to support developing countries in implementing ambitious country-led Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) and to deliver concrete GHG reduction. Funding in the amount of EUR 8.3 million (approximately THB 320 million) out of the total budget has been specifically reserved to set up the “RAC NAMA Fund” with EGAT as the recipient on behalf of Thailand to implement financial support mechanisms in both sub-grants and revolving schemes to support the production and use of climate-friendly and energy-efficient cooling technologies in Thailand.

Mr. Shoke Na Ranong, Bangkok Bank’s Executive Vice President, Credit Card Department, said that the Bangkok Bank was very honoured to be cooperating in the campaign under this project. “We are offering a special promotion to our credit card holders with the Bangkok Bank’s “Be Smart” installment plan with 0% interest for 10 months. In addition, our customers can receive cash back up to 18% or 18,000 baht throughout the campaign. Customers are offered the opportunity to receive a 400-baht cash back for every installment payment of 20,000 Baht or to collect reward points to the same amount as the product’s price.”

Mr. Amorn Suvachittanont, First Senior Vice President, Kasikorn Bank said that Kasikorn Bank too was very honoured to be part of this cooperation, which contributes to GHG mitigation and environmental responsibility. “We are committed to finding solutions in transitioning to a low-carbon economy and to achieve the country’s GHG reduction target. In addition, KBank has been committed to planting the ideals of environmental sustainability in our staff, and Green DNA has become a fundamental element of our corporate culture, guiding every business process and serving to create our identity as the Bank of Sustainability’. This also serves as a great opportunity for our credit card customers who number more than 2.5 million to contribute to the prevention of global warming by using eco-friendly products.”

Ms. Pakachat Taychaburapanone, SCB Executive Vice President and Head of First Division and Prime Division said: “SCB has long been committed to align our business with corporate social responsibility and one of our most important projects is ‘Better Quality of Life and Environment’. SCB is therefore very proud to be a part of this cooperation with EGAT and 3 other financial institutions. We fully support the campaign for fridges that use climate-friendly natural refrigerant by offering an installment plan through SCB credit cards at 0% interest for 10 months along with other marketing activities that the bank continues to offer to our customers.

Mrs. Charoonsri Srisukson, Executive Vice President Merchant Acquiring ‘KTC’ or Krungthai Card Public Company Limited said that KTC is glad to play a part in contributing to energy saving and GHG reduction targets under the Thailand RAC NAMA project. “In response to this policy, we are implementing the promotional campaign for eco-friendly fridges in partnership with producers and more than 2,000 retailers all over the country. KTC offers privileges to our credit card holders with the 0% interest installment payment scheme along with other special benefits.”