Article by: Pornphimol Winyuchakrit (Ph.D.) & MEGA Tech
According to the latest report, the Third Biennial Update Report (BUR3), submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the national emission inventory is categorized into four sectors, including Energy, Industrial Processes and Product Uses (IPPU), Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU), and Waste.
In 2016, Thailand emitted 354 Mt CO2eq. The energy sector was the largest emissions sources, which its emission is accounted for about 71.65 percent of overall emissions in Thailand. The energy sector includes 5 main categories: energy industries, manufacturing industries, transport, residential and buildings. Only in the industries (energy and manufacturing), the emissions were about 62.37 of total emissions released from the energy sector (see Fig.1).
Fig. 1 GHG emissions from the Energy sector of Thailand in 2016
What is “Carbon Neutral”?
“Carbon neutral” refers to “achieving net zero carbon emissions” by balancing the carbon emissions and reductions in the atmosphere (see Fig.2). Energy conservation can be generally done in many actions such as managing the energy use and transitioning to high-efficient energy equipment. Although all actions can reduce large amount of GHG emissions, the emissions amount released from the combusted fossil fuel (i.e., coal, oil, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, etc.) is still higher than the reduction. These can not lead to “net zero carbon emissions”.
The Government of Thailand has promoted the use of renewable energy (RE) for both power and heat generations. It is well known that releasing of Carbon dioxide from RE combustion is considered to be “zero” due to reabsorption for tree respiration process, called “Biogenic Carbon dioxide”, while the other greenhouse gases, i.e. Methane and Nitrous oxide, are still released to the atmosphere.
Fig. 2 Balance of carbon emissions and reductions
How does CCUS play a key role towards the “carbon neutral industry”?
One option that is important to be manage the excess carbon, which has begun to apply into the oversea commercial scale, is using of the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technology. The excess carbon released from the fossil fuel combustion process will be captured, transported, and stored in the large natural reservoirs underground such as the oil or natural gas wells. It will be stored replacing the fossil fuels that had been used. IEA reported that 16 large CCUSs that have been operated in the fertilization manufacturing, iron and hydrogen production, and natural gas production since 2019 have potential to capture carbon more than 30 Mt CO2 each year[3]. The IEA also argues that CCUS is one of the most cost-effectiveness to reduce carbon emissions. The cost of carbon removal is approximately 15 – 25 U.S. dollars per tonne of Carbon dioxide.
Thailand, a member of the global community, would not be able to deny the global direction towards the “carbon neutral”. Therefore, the industries, especially cement, iron and steel, and chemical, which have the potential to obtain the technology should prepare the organization to develop their capacities entering into global competition sustainably.
[1] Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand Third Biennial Update Report, Retrieved from: https://unfccc.int/documents/267629
[2] Australian Government, Carbon zero and carbon positive, Retrieved from: https://whitearkitekter.com/carbon-neutral-buildings-creating-value-through-architecture/
[3] International Energy Agency, Transforming Industry through CCUS, Retrieved from: https://www.iea.org/reports/transforming-industry-through-ccus