Greenpeace launches Stop Global Warming balloon over the Mae Moh coal plant in Lampang, Thailand on the 21st August 2002
"The Thai energy development projections strongly demonstrate
that a 10% global renewable energy target by 2010, as proposed by
Greenpeace, could easily be achieved if world governments meeting
at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg next week commit themselves to
switching to a clean sustainable energy path," said
Athena Ballesteros, Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigns
manager.
"It's only three days until government officials from around the
world meet for the Earth Summit to discuss sustainable development.
Thailand, as a developing nation, can switch to a clean,
sustainable energy path in less than 20 years and still meet its
growing energy needs."
The report "Positive Energy Choices" explains how by 2020, over
one third of Thailand's electricity demand could be met from
renewable sources. Working on a minimum 35% renewables mix, a
quarter (25%) of the country's electricity could be derived from
biomass, 5% from hydro and 2.5% from solar, with the remaining 2.5%
divided between geothermal and wind. Between 2010 and 2015,
renewable energy will become as cheap as conventional energy
sources, possibly even cheaper. Under this scenario, greenhouse gas
emissions would stay at roughly the same level.
"Governments in Johannesburg must embrace the opportunity of the
Earth Summit to support sustainable energy in developing nations.
The cost of producing electricity from greenhouse intensive sources
like coal will continue to increase, while the cost of clean,
renewable energy will continue to fall," said Ballesteros.
Greenpeace today called on the Thai Electricity Generating
Authority to embrace renewable energy and immediately overturn
existing approvals to build new fossil fuel power stations, which
cause dangerous climate change.
"We commissioned this report to add weight to the increasing
public clamour in Thailand for clean, sustainable energy," said
Sven Teske, Greenpeace energy campaigner. "Residents in the Thai
province of Prachuab Khiri Khan have been campaigning against the
proposed coal fired power stations for more than eight years. This
shows that it is possible to meet the growing energy needs of this
country while protecting the climate from dangerous greenhouse gas
emissions that come from fossil fuels."
At the Earth Summit, Greenpeace will lobby governments from
around the world to replace their inaction with strong commitment
to provide affordable renewable energy to the two billion people
worldwide who live without electricity, to phase out all subsidies
to fossil and nuclear fuels, and to ensure that 10% of global
energy is
provided by renewable resources by 2010. Greenpeace is also
seeking a commitment that international financial institutions be
required to move 20% of their energy investments to clean,
renewable energy.
"Even in developing countries, where energy demand is fastest
growing, renewable clean energy is able to meet electricity needs,"
said Ballesteros. "Rich northern countries must stop pushing the
developing world to depend on fossil fuels. Climate change is the
biggest environmental threat facing the planet and developing
countries like Thailand are bearing the brunt of its effects on
agriculture, livelihoods and major ecosystems.
The report "Positive Energy Choices" is part of the Greenpeace
Choose Positive Energy tour of South East Asia with the ship MV
Arctic Sunrise. Throughout the tour, the ship's crew, the staff
from the Greenpeace office of Southeast Asia and other Greenpeace
offices have worked with local communities in Thailand and the
Philippines to fight the development of dirty, polluting energy and
promote clean renewable energy.
VVPR info: http://www.greenpeace.org/~climate/docs/thaienergy.pdf