Thai-German Climate Programme (TGCP)

Project description

Title: Thai-German Climate Programme (TGCP)
Commissioned by: German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)
Countries: Thailand
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE)
Overall term: 2018 to 2022

Context

As a developing country, Thailand is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The country has signed the Paris Agreement and ratified it in September 2016. Under this framework, the Thai government has committed itself to ambitious CO2 mitigation targets and adaptation goals.

In its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), a 2030 mitigation target of 20-25 per cent against BAU has been earmarked. Priorities have been given to the energy, transport and waste sectors and refer to the central sector plans for the implementation. On the adaptation side, the areas of water management, agriculture and health have been defined as key priority areas.

At the national level, the NDC implementation needs further planning and an improved monitoring system. At a subnational level, strategic planning that takes into account climate change and NDC targets are still lacking in many provinces and municipalities. Moreover, there is no central instrument for financing climate protection measures.

For successful NDC implementation, it is necessary to improve individual and institutional capacities as well as cooperation between ministries and authorities. The involvement of other stakeholders from political environments (think tanks, NGOs, etc.) and the international community should also be expanded to drive the transformation process forward.

Objective

  • Climate change policy from the Environment Ministry has been mainstreamed into the sectoral ministries as well as on the subnational level.
  • An improved MRV system in accordance with the UNFCCC requirements has been established.
  • The institutional structures are in place for mobilising funds for the sustainable NDC implementation.
  • Cooperation with the international community on NDC is strengthened.
  • In the long run, the programme intends to contribute to the decarbonisation of the Thai economy and to strengthen Thailand’s resilience to the effects of climate change.

Approach

The TGCP’s team of national and international experts supports Thailand through a cross-sectoral approach in five selected sectors: climate policy, agriculture, energy, waste and water. Capitalising on GIZ’s close and long-standing cooperation with the Thai partners, the team closely works with key partner ministries which receive tailor-made support in relation to the NDCs.

For the overall programme coordination, the Policy component ensures alignment between the different sectors, thus providing a coherent and systematic cross-sectoral support on the topic of the Thai NDC operationalisation. Moreover, synergies between the sectors are utilised and coherence is guaranteed through joint activities between the sectors.

As a large-scale cross-sector programme, TGCP also facilitates the cooperation, dialogue, and knowledge exchange between ongoing projects funded by IKI in Thailand.

Additional information