On 7 November 2024, GIZ Thailand and the Office of National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), Thailand, organised a hybrid knowledge-sharing and exchange session on the topic ‘Energy Transition for Thailand’. This collaborative session garnered attendance of over 30 participants onsite at the Sippanont Conference Room, 4^th Building, NESDC, and over 140 online participants, including civil servants and experts from the NESDC as well as officers from Provincial Energy Offices (PEnO) across Thailand.

“The objective of today’s knowledge-sharing session is for all the participants to gain knowledge, perspectives and experiences on energy transition at domestic and international levels, and to exchange their views on relevant topics with the experts from GIZ. I truly hope that this will help both the NESDC and PEnO to better understand global energy transition trends and apply the knowledge to their work,” said Phavina Assawamaneekul, Acting Deputy Secretary General at the NESDC.

Jarukan Rassiri, Cluster Coordinator – Natural Resources, Energy and Mobility Cluster of GIZ Thailand, welcomed the participants and introduced the history and background, and gave an overview of collaborative projects under GIZ Thailand. She underscored the importance of this joint session as a platform for participants to engage with experts from GIZ Thailand and gain foundational knowledge of current and future global energy transition trends.

Thachatat Kuvarakul, Renewable Energy Component Project Manager from the Thai-German Cooperation on Energy, Mobility and Climate (TGC EMC) project and Nuttawat Suwattanapongtada, Energy Advisor from the Clean, Affordable and Sustainable Energy Southeast Asia (CASE) project, started the knowledge-exchange session with a presentation on ‘Driving Forces for Energy Transition’. With the aim of establishing a common understanding about the energy sector in Thailand, the presentation covered a variety of topics including energy systems in the context of Thailand as well as trends and policy related to renewable energy adoption. In concluding the topic, the speakers also introduced the concept of ‘Energy Trilemma’ – a framework of three pillars that constitute balance in a just transition process, comprising Energy Security, Energy Equity and Energy Sustainability.

On the topic of ‘Navigating the Energy Transition: Insights from the EU and Germany’, Sasha Oppowa, CASE Project Director, provided insights into policy, and economic and energy trends in support of renewable energy adoption and decarbonisation in the European Union. Relevant topics included the region’s carbon neutrality target – an 80% renewable energy adoption target by 2030, and reduced rates of electricity costs over the past decade, etc.

Phat Pumchawsaun, Renewable Energy Project Manager – Technology and Policy from the TGC EMC project, brought the scope of the discussion closer to Thailand and Southeast Asia with the topic ‘Energy Policy in ASEAN’. His presentation offered an in-depth overview of relevant policy, strategy and technology development in the Southeast Asia (SEA) region, including, for example, regional energy consumption rates, regional energy landscape development, ASEAN Power Grid initiatives and regional Carbon Credit strategies and policies.

Suchart Klaikaew, Senior Energy Advisor from the Innovation Regions for a Just Energy Transition (IKI JET) project, speaking on the topic ‘Reforming the Power Sector: Decentralisation for a Just Transition’, took a deep dive into the Just Energy Transition Framework in support of the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy in Thailand. In the process of nationwide decarbonisation, various energy market regulatory designs can be adopted to support different strategies to decentralise sector regulations in promoting energy transition in the country. He also touched upon the concepts of the electricity tariff structure and energy market reforms through Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) as some of the pathways to foster renewable energy integration in the energy sector of Thailand.

Finally, Dr Pramote Puengjinda and Chatchanis Kasemwong, Senior Technical Advisor from the International Hydrogen Ramp-up Programme (H2Uppp), shared knowledge on the topic ‘Decarbonisation Technology Options in the Energy Sector – Hydrogen & PtX’, presenting renewable energy technologies and policy to promote energy transition and Thailand’s carbon neutrality target. This also included an in-depth overview about clean hydrogen fuels and Power-to-X (PtX) as growing renewable energy fuel alternatives, with potential roles in multisectoral decarbonisation and sustainability, especially in the industrial sector and mobility sector.

Apart from the knowledge shared by experts from GIZ Thailand, this seminar also allowed an opportunity for the participants from the NESDC and EPOs to join the discussion with the speakers in stimulating ideation, and exchanging perspectives in relation to the country’s roadmap towards energy, climate and carbon neutrality.