Assessing CO₂ Emissions in the Thai Cement Industry and Possible Reductions Through Green Public Procurement

The global cement industry accounts for over 7% of global CO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> emissions. Therefore, decarbonizing this sector is critical to achieving the Paris Climate Agreement goals. Thailand's cement industry is also one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the country. This study investigates the CO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> emissions from this industry and presents a strategic approach for its decarbonization based on green public procurement (GPP) policy. The procurement of cement for Government-funded projects accounted for 40% of the total amount of cement consumed in Thailand in 2021. This purchasing power gives governments leverage in driving markets toward the production of low-carbon cement. This study considers four GPP scenarios (low, medium, high, transformative) to reduce CO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> emissions in Thailand's cement industry. The results show that the annual emission reductions directly derived from government procurement of cement for construction in the country under the four scenarios considered amount to 1.2, 2.5, 3.7, and 6.1 million tonne CO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf>/year, respectively. By developing these scenarios, this research attempts to quantify the impact of GPP policies with different target levels to minimize the carbon footprint associated with cement production in Thailand. Based on international best practices, practical recommendations are provided for the development of a GPP policy for cement in Thailand.