Germany Cooperates with Thailand towards a Sustainable, Climate-Friendly Transport System

The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Thailand and GIZ are pleased to announce the start of the project ‘Energy efficiency and climate change mitigation in the land transport sector in the ASEAN region’. This project will support Thailand and other ASEAN countries in developing action plans and strategies in the transport sector and also improve the capacity to monitor such policies.

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and will run until the end of 2015. Other important partners in Thailand are the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, Energy Policy and Planning Office, the Pollution Control Department and the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization.

With a strong growth in the vehicle fleet, Thailand and its cities already face serious problems, among them congestion, high fossil fuel consumption, air pollution and traffic accidents – and these issues are set to worsen. In addition, transport in Thailand is a significant contributor to global CO2 emissions. In order to combat these worrying trends, sustainable transport policies, including the promotion of public transport, emission standards for passenger and freight vehicles and non-motorized transport, urgently need to be implemented.

Mrs. Raweewan Bhuridej, Deputy Secretary of ONEP said ‘This event is a great opportunity to learn from international experience in order to further develop land transport strategies as well as improve measurement reporting and verification (MRV) in Thailand. The project, Energy efficiency and climate change mitigation in the land Transport sector, will enhance cooperation between local and international experts to jointly develop land transport policies appropriate to the Thai context.’

Mr. Stefan Bakker, Team leader, GIZ, added ‘Combating climate change goes hand in hand with improving air quality, reducing congestion and improving energy security. Sustainable transport policies will thereby greatly benefit ASEAN including Thailand, which is already recognized in the Master Plan for Sustainable Transport and Mitigation of Climate Change. In order to step up such policies, GIZ is working together with Ministries of Transport and Environment in the region as well as relevant ASEAN Working Groups. One specific area where more work is needed is green freight, which has to date received little attention.’