Sujeetha Selvakkumaran

Assessment of Thailand's energy policies on energy security

In current times, energy is of vital importance to ensure the economic and social development of countries. In this regard, energy security is an important aspect of the energy sector. This paper analyses the benefits and costs which accrue for various policy options for the Thai power sector. The policies which are considered in this paper include i) low carbon society (LCS), ii) introduction of nuclear power plants, iii) integrated resource planning (IRP) and iv) combination of these measures. The case study of Thailand has been modeled using a bottom-up integer programming based optimization model called “Model for Energy Supply Strategy Alternatives and their General Environmental Impacts” (MESSAGE). In this study, Thailand has been modeled as a single region with seven scenarios including the Reference scenario. Energy security has been assessed along the themes of oil security, gas security, and sustainability. Results show that in terms of cost savings and improving energy security along the theme of sustainability the LCS and Combined scenarios are the most effective measures. Another important result is that none of the policy measures have significant impacts on oil security in Thailand.

Assessment of energy security and low carbon society scenarios in Thailand and Sri Lanka

The term energy security has permeated itself into the energy landscape rapidly in the last decade due to the imminent threat of scarcity of conventional energy supply. Low carbon society (LCS) planning has become the key phrase in the fight to mitigate climate change. This paper attempts to analyse the effect of the reduction of CO2 emissions from the power sector on the energy security of Thailand and Sri Lanka. Both countries have been modeled using a bottom-up integer programming based optimization model called “Model for Energy Supply Strategy Alternatives and their General Environmental Impacts” (MESSAGE). Thailand and Sri Lanka have been modeled as individual single region case studies with five scenarios each, with mitigation of CO2 emissions from the power sector modeled with the reduction of 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% in comparison to the Reference scenario. In this paper, energy security is measured using three main themes; namely oil security, gas security and sustainability. Results of the assessment indicate that whilst oil security and gas security are not significantly affected by the low carbon policies implemented, sustainability of the energy sector is improved for the case of Thailand, while the same scenarios have significant beneficial impacts on both the themes of oil security and sustainability for the case of Sri Lanka.

The role of multilateral climate funds in urban transitions between 1994 and 2014

ABSTRACT The developing world is currently undergoing fast urbanization, and urban infrastructure systems built today are likely to influence global greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption patterns for decades to come. This study draws on the analysis of 1994–2014 climate finance investments by five major multilateral climate funds that have a record of directly supporting urban climate mitigation and adaptation actions in cities across developing countries. The analysis indicates that the administered funds provided very limited support to urban climate finance across the developing world. In middle-income countries mitigation projects within transport sector dominated both urban multilateral climate finance and co-finance. Cities in low-income countries attracted non-considerable amounts of urban climate finance, most of which were supporting urban adaptation efforts. The study concludes by outlining that multilateral climate funds should give higher priority to urban climate finance on their investment portfolios with a particular emphasis on rapidly urbanizing cities in low-income countries.

Exploring synergies between the intended nationally determined contributions and electrification goals of Ethiopia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

The objective of the study is to assess the linkages between climate-related measures and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Ethiopia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) within the scope of submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC). Given the under-reporting of least developed countries’ and emerging economies’ issues with regards to climate change mitigation and adaptation, this study is important in studying how these three countries are integrating electrification goals (SDG7) with their INDC. The analysis explores the electricity mix, the expected greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation until 2030, and electrification and related metrics. The INDCs provide a platform to achieve universalization of electrification, catalysing climate finance. Given the bottom-up process inherent to the current climate agreement mechanism, the paper gives insights on how these countries have used the INDC to prioritize sustainable electricity access. The results show that the countries have different storylines as to their electricity access targets and INDC. Ethiopia aims at nearly 100% renewables for power, while Kenya only generates 54% of the total electricity with renewables in 2030. In the DRC, the percentage of renewables is very high, but the per capita electricity consumption remains low while the country becomes a power exporter. The three countries have set a target of 75% electricity access in 2030, but only Kenya comes halfway to the minimum of 2000 kWh/capita of economy-wide electricity generation, which is required for a reasonable level of welfare.

Energy security of three selected Asian countries

ABSTRACT Energy security has become of importance to many countries that are facing the developmental challenge. In this regard, this paper analyses the effect of CO2 mitigation measures in the power sector on the energy security of three developing Asian countries, namely Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. This paper contends that energy security consists of three important themes, namely oil security, gas security, and sustainability. The energy systems of the three countries were modeled using an integer programming-based optimization model called “Model for Energy Supply Strategy Alternatives and their General Environmental Impacts” (MESSAGE), and the time frame of analyses was 2007–2030. Results show that there is significant increase in the sustainability of the energy systems due to CO2 mitigation measures in all three countries whilst oil security and to a lesser extent gas security were not significantly enhanced.