The Energy Ministry has set a target to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power generation by 15-20% by 2018, noting that the sector creates half of Thailand's greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Minister Wannarat Channukul was responding yesterday to calls by the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation (TGO) to address growing concerns over climate change.

The ministry's Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) said Thailand's CO2 emissions were 400 million tonnes in 2003, the last year for which figures were available. Of the total, 56% came from the energy sector, 24.3% from agriculture and the rest from transport and industry.

To encourage business operators to apply clean technologies, the government and the TGO will provide support through clean development mechanism (CDM) projects, which allow operators to earn income from CO2 reductions by trading carbon credit, said TGO deputy executive director Chaiwat Muncharoen.

Mr Wannarat said the government would provide consulting services to help firms obtain carbon emission reduction (CER) certificates. The major clients of credits are large economies that need to cut CO2 emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.

Mr Chaiwat said the TGO has approved 46 power producers for CERs of 3.2 million tonnes annually. Of the total, 51% are the biogas-power producers and 23% are biomass and the rest are large coal-fired, gas-fired and combined-cycle power producers.

''We [the ministry and the TGO] are keen to help operators improve energy efficiency. ... We are a part of the world community, part of the emissions are also caused by us,'' he said.

He added that TGO's approval record showed that solid waste from local communities had high potential for applications in small power plants, which could qualify for carbon credits.

Mr Wannarat expects another 100 CDM traders would be approved by the TGO within this year.

Global carbon credit prices are currently around 16 per tonnes, down from 20 before the worldwide slowdown.