Decarbonization of Power Sector in Thailand to Achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050

Thailand has significantly raised its emissions reduction goals, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050 and setting a net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target for 2065. The power sector is the largest contributor to carbon dioxide (CO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf>) emissions and plays a pivotal role in decarbonizing other sectors. As such, a comprehensive reform and decarbonization of the power sector are imperative for Thailand to successfully achieve the carbon neutrality and net-zero GHG emissions goals. This study hence develops a recursive dynamic Asia-Pacific Integrated Model/Computable General Equilibrium (AIM/CGE) model to analyze the economy-wide impacts of decarbonization pathways focusing on the Thai power sector. In doing so, this study disaggregates the electricity generation sector into various renewable and fossil-based sources when evaluating the responses to decarbonization policies. Simulations indicate that disaggregation in electricity production is important for accurately quantifying the economic impacts of carbon mitigation.