An International Climate Initiative (ICI) project in Thailand is using additional funding from the European Commission to intensify its commitment. This co-financing, amounting to 1.6 million euros, will allow the project to be expanded by a supplementary component.

An International Climate Initiative (ICI) project in Thailand is using additional funding from the European Commission to intensify its commitment. This co-financing, amounting to 1.6 million euros, will allow the project to be expanded by a supplementary component. The ICI project is making a key contribution to the evolution and implementation of the recently adopted national energy action plan that, in particular, fosters the efficient use of energy as a pivotal element of an emissions reduction strategy.

Through the project, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) is helping the Thai Government improve its stock of data on sector-specific energy consumption levels and savings. These data make it easier to identify potential for energy efficiency improvement, create new incentive systems, enhance energy management and establish optimised standards and labelling. The goal is to cut energy consumption in the industrial and commercial sectors by 25 per cent by 2030 from the 2005 baseline. The ICI project concentrates on boosting efficiency in industry and buildings. The EU funding now makes it possible to not only engage in policy advice, but also carry out pilot measures on the ground that improve energy efficiency in small and medium-sized enterprises in the automotive parts supplier industry. The experience gained there in applying the instruments of the energy efficiency plan will contribute decisively to further policy design in this field. The project is being carried out jointly by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Wuppertal Institute (WI) in Germany, and the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE) in Thailand.

The additional funds for the ICI project are being provided by the European Union’s SWITCH-Asia programme, which promotes sustainable consumption and production in Asia’s automotive parts industry. SWITCH-Asia seeks to increase stock availability in this sector while conserving natural resources and reducing toxic materials and emissions.

The project promoted by the German Government and the funding provided by the EU interlock, boosting the effectiveness of joint international mitigation activities.