(left to right) Mr. Pavich Kesavawong, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE); Mr. Sarat Prakobchat, Deputy Director-General of the Energy Policy and Planning Office; Dr. Philipp Behrens, Head of the IKI Division, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany (BMWK); Dr. Phirun Saiyasitpanich, Secretary-General of the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP); Dr. Ulf Jaeckel, Head of European and International Adaptation to Climate Change Division of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection; Dr. Bernd Christiansen, Food and Agriculture Counsellor, Embassy of Germany; and Mr. Reinhold Elges, Country Director of GIZ Thailand.

High-level officials from Germany and Thailand, as well as more than 100 representatives from 30 projects funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) gathered at the annual IKI Thailand Cooperation Workshop organised on 19 October 2023 in Bangkok. The Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE) and the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) co-hosted the event that aimed to serve as a platform for open exchange between political partners and project implementors. It allowed representatives of IKI-funded projects to hear about Thailand’s and Germany’s recent policy developments and challenges in the field of climate change mitigation, adaptation, and biodiversity, while at the same time, providing an opportunity to showcase the achievements, lessons learned and progress in their projects.

Participants discussed and exchanged during an interactive marketplace showcasing their projects’ key activities and achievements.

Dr. Bernd Christiansen, Food and Agriculture Counsellor, Embassy of Germany and Dr. Philipp Behrens, Head of the IKI Division, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany (BMWK) emphasised that Thailand has always been an ambitious partner and ally for Germany in promoting ambitious climate and environmental action. Germany is willing to support Thailand in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and becoming a net-zero greenhouse gas nation by 2065.

“Thailand has made a bold move in addressing climate change by establishing a DCCE. This showcases a strong commitment to combating climate change. As the national climate change focal point, the DCCE will continue to work and collaborate with partners, both national and international, to ensure effective climate change action in Thailand“, said Mr. Pavich Kesavawong, Deputy Director-General of the DCCE.

Dr. Phirun Saiyasitpanich, Secretary-General of the ONEP, reaffirmed Thailand’s dedication to biodiversity conservation, creating co-benefits for climate mitigation and adaptation through the formulation of the 5th National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan, and by driving the development of the first Biodiversity Act for Thailand.

A panel discussion focused on Germany´s and Thailand´s efforts to catalyse policy into action and scale.

The panel discussion facilitated by Mr. Reinhold Elges, Country Director of GIZ Thailand, focused on the efforts to catalyse policy into action and scale. The panellists included Dr. Philipp Behrens, Dr. Ulf Jaeckel, Head of European and International Adaptation to Climate Change Division of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Dr. Phirun Saiyasitpanich, Mr. Pavich Kesavawong, and Mr. Sarat Prakobchat, Deputy Director-General of the Energy Policy and Planning Office. The discussion allowed the audience to gain insights into Thailand’s priorities and challenges in moving towards a net-zero, climate-resilient, and nature-positive economy, and the role IKI can play in supporting this transition.

In the afternoon session, representatives from 18 projects funded by the IKI shared main activities and best practices from their projects, highlighting key results and learnings from which the IKI community in Thailand could learn and benefit from. The inputs showed the high level of expertise and dedication of the projects and their partners to advance Thailand´s sustainable development pathway.

The discussions and networking continued in an interactive marketplace format, which gave all attendees the opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and identify synergies among the IKI projects in Thailand and beyond.

Since 2008 the Federal German Government has supported international climate and biodiversity action through funding by the IKI. Since then, the IKI has continuously evolved to reflect a diverse project portfolio advancing climate and biodiversity protection through various projects and with a broad range of political and implementing partners.

The IKI of the German Federal Government plays a pivotal role in financing international climate action, forest conservation, and biodiversity protection worldwide. Thailand is one of IKI’s 14 focal countries, benefiting from a financing volume of approximately 422 million EUR, which includes financing volumes of regional and global projects with a Thailand component. The IKI-funded project Climate, Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Project running from 2022-2027 and implemented by GIZ, has been mandated to act as the IKI interface for Thailand. This function includes the organisation of the annual IKI Cooperation Workshops and further activities to facilitate exchange among IKI projects in Thailand.

Representatives from IKI-funded projects presented their key outputs, achievements and learnings.

Participants discussed and exchanged during an interactive marketplace showcasing their projects’ key activities and achievements.