On 14 May 2026, the Thai-German Cooperation on Energy, Mobility and Climate (TGC EMC), implemented by GIZ Thailand, organised a stakeholder consultation workshop on the development of a decarbonisation roadmap for Thailand’s upstream petrochemical industry.
The workshop brought together representatives from the petrochemical industry, government agencies, technical experts, and related stakeholders to review and provide feedback on the draft decarbonisation roadmap for Thailand’s upstream petrochemical sector – building upon the first stakeholder consultation workshop in 2025 and a series of small focus group meetings where industry outlooks, energy and carbon intensity assessments, emerging low-carbon technologies, and initial decarbonisation pathways were listed. It aimed to validate key technical assumptions, review and discuss decarbonisation scenarios, and gather recommendations on prioritised policy measures for the enabling conditions needed to support the sector’s transition towards a net zero target in 2050.
As one of Thailand’s important industrial sectors, the petrochemical industry plays a significant role in economic development while also contributing substantially to greenhouse gas emissions. The petrochemical sector remains central to Thailand’s industrial landscape and broader manufacturing value chain, making decarbonisation efforts increasingly important for supporting climate ambitions, sustainable energy transition and long-term industrial competitiveness.
During the workshop, Associate Professor Siriluk Chiarakorn, project advisor and expert from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), presented key findings from the draft roadmap, including greenhouse gas emissions baseline assessments, production outlook scenarios and potential decarbonisation pathways for Thailand’s upstream petrochemical industry.
The study aimed to support long-term planning by determining various scenarios. These included a ‘Business-as-Usual’ (BAU) scenario, reflecting current development trends, and an ‘Existing Policy’ scenario that takes into account the impacts of existing measures and energy policies. Besides that, the minimum and maximum ambition scenarios to assess various levels of decarbonisation technology deployment and feedstock transition were presented. This initial analysis is helping frame and identify realistic decarbonisation pathways as well as supporting measures.
The discussions highlighted a range of technologies and measures with the potential to support emissions reduction, including process optimisation, energy efficiency improvements, low-carbon feedstock transitioning, and Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). Participants also exchanged views on enabling conditions necessary for implementation, including green electricity infrastructure, hydrogen development, investment mechanisms and supportive policy frameworks. Stakeholders actively exchanged practical insights to ensure that the proposed pathways accurately reflect the operational reality and market conditions, the significance of evaluating the lifespan of current petrochemical facilities (which are typically designed to last up to 40 years) and the practicality of investing in new facilities, as well as the challenges to remain competitive. Besides the technological aspects, stakeholders provided recommendations to enhance and accelerate the adoption of low-carbon solutions in the sector.
The workshop further gathered valuable inputs on policy recommendations covering regulatory frameworks, financial support mechanisms, research and innovation and the capacity development initiatives needed to enable the transition of Thailand’s petrochemical industry towards a lower-carbon future.
All feedback collected throughout the consultation meeting will support refining the final draft version. The final roadmap is designed to support future policy decisions, and meanwhile, provide industry guidance on practical decarbonisation measures to achieve the net zero target while sustaining long-term competitiveness in both domestic and international markets.
Through continued dialogue and collaboration among industry stakeholders, government institutions, academia and development partners, TGC EMC remains committed to supporting Thailand’s transition towards a sustainable and climate-resilient industrial future.
