Greenhouse Gas Inventory in Thailand

Abstract

In 1992, in preparation for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Thailand’s first inventory of greenhouse gas emissions was completed with support from the Asian Development Bank. The 1991 version of the IPCC Methodology was used to calculate emissions. The COPATH model, developed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was used in the forestry sector. The base year was 1989, but data on other years are included in the paper when available. The inventory focuses on carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and non-methane volatile organic compounds from energy, industry, agriculture, and forestry.

For the base year 1989, Thailand emitted a total of 112 Tg CO₂ and 7.0 Mg CH₄. Energy consumption generated the largest amount of Thailand’s anthropogenic emissions, accounting for 63% of the nation’s total carbon dioxide emissions. The transportation sector produced the largest proportion (43.5% of total carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector), followed by the power generation sector, with 29.6%. The forestry sector produced the second largest proportion of carbon dioxide emissions, with 31.7% of the total. Rice cultivation is the main source of methane emissions in Thailand, responsible for 89.8% of total methane emissions. Livestock is the second largest source, with 7% of total methane emissions.

The inventory is currently being revised with support from the U.S. Country Studies Program and the Royal Thai Government. The revised inventory will include more subsectors, such as landfills, waste treatment, and other industrial processes, and will use 1990 as the base year.