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Just found a Thai website focusing on Climate Change issues in Thailand. http://www.thaiclimate.org/Eng/ List of Khun Thai working on Climate Change issues: http://www.thaiclimate.org/Eng/People.cfm Apirak Kosayodhin Since becoming Bangkok's Governor in 2004, Apirak has emerged as one of the first Thai politicians to incorporate global warming as a principal component of his platform. In May 2007, he launched a CO2 reduction campaign encouraging Bangkok citizens to recycle their garbage, use less energy and start riding bicycles. Using media events followed by placards and signs scattered throughout the capital, he?s hoping to keep the idea of reducing our carbon footprint in the public eye. In June 2007 he released a draft 2007-2012 Action Plan to guide the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration?s response to Global Warming. Aree Wattana Toomakoed Often referred to as Thailand?s climate lady, the senior official from the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), the agency charged with implementing the Kyoto Protocol in Thailand, routinely represent Thailand at international climate change meetings and negotiations. Although Thailand remains a relatively inactive player within these negotiations, she tries to secure funding from donor countries for adaptation and CO2 reduction programs. She feel Thailand, like many developing countries, will benefit from technology transfers to combat global warming. Scientists Dr. Sitanon Jetsadapipat Dr. Sitanon, presently Technical Advisor of the Red Cross/ Red Crescent Climate Centre, serves on Thailand?s National Climate Change Committee. Since 1996, he has closely monitored the politics of climate change, from developing countries' perspectives, with a view that developing countries are persuaded to believe in developed countries' dominance in science, technology and mindset, without realization of their own weaknesses in negotiating climate change. He is a strong advocate for the Thai government to enhance its own research capacity, broaden participation of stakeholders and to implement appropriate policies. He is also founder of Climate Policy Initiative of SEA START, a global change research network, based at Chulalongkorn University. Dr. Lisa Schipper Dr. Schipper is a Project Manager with Southeast Asia Global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training. Her specialty is exploring adaptation mechanisms in response to climate change. She has written extensively on the adaptation issue, many of which can be found on her climate change adaptation website. Her focus in Thailand now is the development of a network to facilitate the training of scientists in Southeast Asia in different areas of climate change research. Email Suppakorn Chinvano Suppakorn is a consultant with the Southeast Asia Global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training. He works closely with Anond Sanidvongs on Thailand climate models as well as his own field research. He is particularly interested in understanding the impacts global warming will have on Thailand?s agricultural sector and adaptation strategies that may need to be developed. His initial research on the impact of climate change on farmers and their production of the famous Hom Mali fragrant rice at Thung Kula was the first of its kind. email Dr. Thiravat Hemachudha Dr. Thiravat is Professor of Neurology at the Department of Medicine and Molecular Biology Center for Neurological Diseases Chulalongkorn University Hospital. He studies disease transmission from animals to humans, particularly viruses. He feels strongly that global warming will alter the life cycles of animals and insects, likely changing how, when and what types of diseases we need to be prepared for. For example, Thailand?s tropical climate makes it particularly vulnerable to disease transmission via mosquitoes; major changes in their environment could change their ability to transmit new strains of tropical diseases. He has aggressively urged policy makers to look into this issue. Dr. Anond Sanidvongs Dr. Anond is Director of the Southeast Asia Global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training. He is one of the first scientists to seriously study the impact of climate change in Thailand, and remains one of the most cited Thai experts on climate change issues. He assisted the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in drafting its global warming Action Plan. In November 2007 he will release the findings from new climate change modeling for Thailand, developed in cooperation with the UK-based Handley Centre. Atsamon Limsakul Atsamon is a researcher with the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion. He studied earth and atmospheric sciences at Nagoya University, and his principle focus now is global warming in Thailand. He has produced a study to confirm the likely temperature changes Thailand will experience due to global warming, slated for publication by the Atmospheric Research Journal in late 2007. He also is collaborating with Dr. Sangchan Limjirakarn?s on the Assessment of Extreme Weather Events and Hotspot Areas in Thailand.   Dr. Sangchan Limjirakarn Dr. Sangchan is senior researcher at Chulalongkorn University?s Environmental Research Institute. One of her recent studies investigated the release of methane gas from rice fields. As methane is a greenhouse gas, the global levels of which need to be reduced, rice farming has been a target of some western governments. She has helped to document the limited contribution rice farming in Thailand make to global methane releases. Currently, she is working on the Assessment of Extreme Weather Events and Hotspot Areas in Thailand funded by the Thailand Research Fund. The results are expected in 2008, and will help Thailand prioritize areas in need of improved natural disaster preparation. Dr Kamphol Rujiwich Dr Kamphol teaches at Thammasat University?s Applied Health Faculty. He constantly warns that rising temperature in Thailand could increase the likelihood of epidemics. He's now exploring this hypothesis through pioneering research on the changing genes and DNA of the cholera virus, enabling it to spread year-round instead of during only the summer months. The three-year research project, which began in 2005, examines the mouths of four key rivers in the Central region: Chao Phraya, Bang Pakong, Thachin, and Mae Klong. His initial findings indicate that only a 0.5 degrees centigrade increase in water temperature can enable the cholera virus to grow rapidly and cause previously benign strains of the virus to now trigger the disease. Dr. Thanawat Jarupongsakul Dr. Thanawat is a lecturer in geology at Chulalongkorn University specializing in soil erosion. He studies coastal areas with severe erosion problems, and more recently has been investigating how climate change and sea level rise may be an important contributing factor to accelerating coastal erosion. He recently engineered a new type of coastal barrier installed in Baan Khun Samut Jeen in Samut Prakarn. These new barriers have received wide acclaim for their effectiveness, and are now being promoted as one of the tools Thailand should use to respond to sea level rise caused by global warming. Advoacy Tara Buakhamsri Tara Buakhamsri is climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia. He first captured media attention as a respected critic of industrial pollution in Thailand. With Greenpeace he has lead opposition efforts to clean coal and nuclear power plants offered as mechanisms for Thailand to reduce CO2 emmissions. In August 2007, Tare and launched Greenpeace Thailand?s mobile Climate Clinic, and accompanying handbook, for people to calculate the amount of CO2 emissions they are individually responsible for through the course of any given day, and the strategies they can take to reduce these emissions. Wanun Permpibul Wanun consults for the Renewable Energy Institute of Thailand, a member of Climate Action Network, a worldwide network of non-government organisations working to promote government, private sector and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels. She emerged as a vocal activist in April 2007 when Bangkok hosted meetings or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. She cautioned Thai society that the government can't be allowed to use the need to reduce carbon emissions as a rationale to promote nuclear power. Wanan is concurrently a PhD candidate at the Asian Institute of Technology researching Thailand's vulnerability to climate change and its capabilities to adapt. Chom Greacen Chom is a public interest electricity sector analyst working to shift Thailand to more appropriate energy producing technologies. From 1999 to 2003 she worked as a policy analyst with Thailand's Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO), responsible for electricity policy reform. She studied environmental engineering at Dartmouth College and has a MS from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California at Berkeley. She co-found Palang Thai, a Thailand-based non-profit organization that promotes transitions within the region's energy sector to more economically, social and environmental just energy generation and distribution practices. International NGOs Christopher Seeley Mr Seeley is City Coordinator for the Clinton Climate Initiative. Bangkok is one of the 40 largest cities the Clinton Foundation is working with to develop and implement a range of projects and programs to increase energy efficiency and generate cleaner energy. The initiative?s main focus is to provide technical assistance by combining the purchasing power of many cities to accelerate the evolution of markets for alternative energy products. There's a good .pdf report on Thailand's Energy Sector & Climate Change, "Climate Change and Energy Policy in Thailand. Politics versus Realities", by Vanessa Buth, published by HBF http://www.boell-southeastasia.org/en/web/106_128.html Excerpt: Thai energy politics: undemocratic, non-transparent and misleading The news about new regulations published in the media often shine a very positive light on the overall situation. But still, energy sector governance, planning and practice in Thailand are centralized, monopolistic, inefficient, and gender-biased. This has created a static energy situation that can be defined as unsustainable, growth-oriented, reliant on expansion and negligent of energy efficiency. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) EGAT, the state the government when it comes to energy politics in Thailand. EGAT itself is accounting for 59% of the country?s energy generating capacity (a minimum of 50% is EGAT?s share by legal regulation). It wholly owns its two subsidiaries, the Independent Power Producers (IPP) Electricity Generating Public Company Limited (EGCO), in which it is the major share holder with approximately 25% stakes, and Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Company 56 about 45% stakes. This powerful position has created a policy in favour of EGAT and widely undemocratic and non-transparent in energy forecast, generation, distribution and pricing. ?As a monopoly for over three decades, EGAT is one of Thailand's most powerful vested interest groups. Years of technocratic accomplishment have bred a deep sense of entitlement over national resources. Perks proliferated, including free electricity for all EGAT's over 29,000 staff. Insulated by its technical expertise, management usually handed the government its investment plans as a done deal, often designing power plants and negotiating financing with the World Bank or other aid agencies independently.? EGAT also wants to maintain its monopoly hold on transmission and distribution. EGAT focuses on coal and lignite, natural gas, large hydropower, and will be responsible for nuclear power generation.

Energy Bill Update: A Washington Insider's View Scott Sklar gives a comprehensive overview of the House Energy Bill by Scott Sklar, The Stella Group, Ltd. Washington, D.C. [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] The Congressional Democratic leadership will soon bring to the floor a comprehensive set of policies to drive clean energy into the coming decades which face the risk of a presidential veto by including $21 billion in tax incentives paid for by repealing oil and gas industry subsidies. So this is a game of "chicken" with the White House and some key Republicans who are spearheading the interests, primarily, of the electric utilities and fossil energy industries lobbying vociferously against these provisions. The proposals, not yet firmed at this writing, extend the Production Tax Credit placed-in-service date for the Section 45 renewable energy production tax credit for four years (through December 31, 2012) for qualifying facilities: wind; closed-loop biomass; open-loop biomass; geothermal; small irrigation hydropower; landfill gas; and trash combustion facilities. It also includes a new category of qualifying facilities ? those that generate electricity from marine renewables (e.g., waves and tides). The package caps the aggregate amount of tax credits that can be earned for qualifying facilities placed in service after December 31, 2008 to an amount that has a present value equal to 35% of the facility's cost. The proposal is estimated to cost $6.6 billion over 10 years. Business solar, fuel cell, and microturbine investment tax credits are also extended. The 30% investment tax credit for solar and fuel cells, and the 10% credit for microturbines is extended for eight years (through December 31, 2016) and creates a new 10% investment tax credit for combined heat and power property. The package also increases the cap on fuel cell credits from $500 per half kilowatt hour to $1,500. The proposal is estimated to cost $602 million over 10 years. Residential energy-efficient property is extended for six years (through December 31, 2014) and modifies the personal tax credit for residential solar electric, solar water heating, and fuel cell property. The modification raises the cap on the credit for solar electric property to $4,000. The proposal also adds a new 30% personal credit for residential wind property capped at $4,000. The proposal is estimated to cost $317 million over 10 years. The Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) has new language that still requires a 15% RPS by 2020, with utilities allowed to meet up to 27% of that overall requirement with 4 of the 15 percent utilizing energy efficiency. The cost cap is lowered to 2.5 cents (from 3 cents in the House-passed Udall amendment). Municipal utilities and co-ops are still exempt. The Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) package authorizes $2 billion for CREBs to be allocated equally among rural electric cooperatives, public power and governments for funding of section 45 eligible projects. The proposal is estimated to cost $550 million over 10 years. Conservation and Energy Efficiency also has bond programs. The Conservation Tax Credit Bond package establishes a new category of tax credit bonds for green community programs and initiatives designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is a national limitation of $3 billion, allocated to States and municipalities. The proposal is estimated to cost $864 million over 10 years. Qualified Forestry Conservation Bonds programs creates a new category of tax credit bonds for qualified forestry projects designed to acquire land subject to native fish habitat conservation plans for conservation purposes. The proposal is estimated to cost $161 million over 10 years. Energy-efficient existing homes credit package extends the 10% investment tax credit for one year (through December 31, 2008) for expenditures to improve the energy efficiency of an existing home. Biomass wood stoves are added to the list of qualified energy efficient building property eligible for a $300 credit if the property has a heating coefficient of performance of at least 1.1. The proposal is estimated to cost $402 million over 10 years. The Energy-efficient commercial buildings package extends the energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction for five years (through December 31, 2013). The proposal is estimated to cost $901 million over 10 years. The Energy Independence and Security Act would require cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. to achieve a minimum fleet-wide average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The first congressionally mandated increase in corporate average fuel economy standards, or CAFE, since 1975, it would boost the requirement from the current model-year levels of 27.5 miles per gallons for cars and 22.2 miles per gallon for light trucks and sport utility vehicles. This specific program is one of the provisions that has produced a White house veto threat. The Cellulosic alcohol production credit creates a new production tax credit of up to $1.01 per gallon for the production of cellulosic fuel. The credit terminates on December 31, 2013. The proposal is estimated to cost $482 million over 10 years. The Bill also includes the extension of a biodiesel production tax credit; extension and modification of a renewable diesel tax credit: The package extends for two years (through December 31, 2010) the $1.00 and 50¢ per-gallon production tax credits for biodiesel. The package also extends through 2010 the $1.00 per-gallon production tax credit for renewable diesel. Where?s the $21 billion for these incentives coming from? The following subsidies to traditional energy companies: The selected revenue raisers: 1) a repeal section 199 for the big 5 oil companies and freeze the deduction at 6% for the rest of the oil and natural gas industry (raises over $9b), 2) changes in basis reporting, 3) a coal excise tax, 4) repeal depreciation of gas distribution lines granted in EPACT?05, 5) G&G modification (except it to be House proposal of 5 year moving to 7 years), and 6) changes in FOGEI and FORI (package eliminates the distinction between foreign oil and gas extraction income ("FOGEI") and foreign oil related income ("FORI"). This relates to upstream production to the point the oil leaves the wellhead. Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) has vowed to filibuster this bill unless the oil and gas incentives are not touched and the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) is dropped. So this is a game of ?chicken? with the White House and some key Republicans who are spearheading the interests, primarily, of the electric utilities and fossil energy industries lobbying vociferously against these provisions. Republicans & Bush suck the weenie big-time. :roll: