The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE)
King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT)

International Seminar Workshop on “Maximizing Co-benefits between Air Quality Management, Greenhouse Gases Mitigation, and Energy Policy for Thailand”

JGSEE-CEE successfully organized the International Seminar Workshop on “Maximizing Co-benefits between Air Quality Management, Greenhouse Gases Mitigation, and Energy Policy for Thailand”. The event was held on 26 February 2016 at Avani Riverside Bangkok Hotel. This workshop is part of the research project on “Development of Thailand’s Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) Emission Inventory and Projection for Use in Air Quality Models”. It is a collaborative work between Toyota Motor Corporation and JGSEE. The aim of the workshop was to disseminate the knowledge on the environment and energy policy development under the context of maximizing co-benefits between environmental, economical, and social aspects.
 
To start the event, welcome and opening remarks were delivered by Assoc Prof Dr Sirintornthep Towprayoon (director of JGSEE). The morning session focused on “Co-benefits from Integrating Air Quality, Climate Mitigation and Energy Policies” and was chaired by Dr Supat Wangwongwattatna from the Regional Resources Center for Asia and the Pacific (RRC.AP), Thailand. Dr Supat also delivered a presentation during this session on “The Asian Co-benefits Partnership and its Potential Contribution to Thailand’s Environmental and Climate Change Policies in the Perspectives of UNFCCC COP21 Paris Agreement”. This was followed by a presentation by Dr Wijarn Simachaya, Director General of Pollution Control Department, Thailand, on “Co-benefit of Air Quality and Climate Change Policy in Thailand”. Mr Yoshiki Hashimoto, Director of Energy Affairs Department, Toyota Motors Corporation, Japan, gave a presentation on “Toyota’s Development of More Energy Efficient and Cleaner Vehicles” and Prof Jatna Supriatna, Chairman of Research Center for Climate Change, University of Indonesia, presented on “Indonesia’s Climate Change, Air Quality and City of Jakarta”. The morning session ended with a presentation by Dr Satoru Chatani form the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan, on “Development and Applications of Air Benefit and Cost and Attainment Assessment System in China”.
 
The afternoon session focused on “Application of GAINS Model in Asia for Assessment of Air Quality Management and Climate Change Mitigation”. Again the session was chaired by Dr Supat. Dr Markus Amann, Director of Mitigation of Air Pollutants and GHGs (MAG), IIASA, Austria, started the session with a presentation on “Application of the GAINS Approach to Formulate the EU Air and Climate Mitigation”. Then, Dr Sumit Sharma from TERI, India, gave a presentation on “Development of Mitigation Options for Transport Sector in India using GAINS Model” and Assoc Prof Dr Savitri Garivait, JGSEE, on “Development of Thailand’s Emission Inventory and Projection of Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gases using GAINS Model”. The workshop ended up with a final presentation by Dr Savitri on “Thailand’s Emission Inventory of Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gases in 2010 and 2015” and final concluding and closing remarks by Dr Supat.
 
The workshop was very informative. It gathered almost 100 participants from the academic sector, as well as representatives from the private and government sectors in Thailand as well as Austria, Japan, and Indonesia.