TCC Facilitates MRV Training at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi for the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment

Bangkok, 23 and 30 September 2021 – The first university training on energy efficiency and indicators organised by TCC has been a great success, not only in terms of knowledge provision, but also in creating lasting personal experiences regarding impacts of the transport sector on climate change and the importance of emission-reduction. The training was conducted as part of the class “Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Monitoring and Accounting” which is an elective subject for the graduate students at JGSEE.

During the training, the participants, who are either PhDs or Master students in Environmental Engineering and Management, learned about the diverse modes of transportation, how to collect data, the Avoid-Shift-Improve approach and how to calculate CO₂ emissions using either the top-down or the bottom-up concept.

As a part of the introductory presentation, the trainer Mr. Papondhanai Nanthachatchavankul showed the students current figures of Thailand’s emissions and pointed out the accountability towards the international community, which Thailand joined by ratifying important climate change related documents such as the Paris Agreement. All students agreed that in order to mitigate the impacts of transport on the climate and to achieve the co-benefits like cleaner air, improved health conditions, better quality of life, and in general sustainable cities, there has to be a paradigm shift – Non-motorised transport (NMT) has to be promoted, and the use of cars, especially privately owned vehicles should be restrained.

By firstly calculating their own personal vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) and secondly calculating the annual CO₂ emissions resulting from their travel, the students gained important insights and vividly discussed their perceptions of transportation and the lack of public transportation infrastructure in Thailand, with a focus on Bangkok. When asked for a feedback at the end of the training, the majority of the students mentioned an increase of knowledge regarding transportation and how to measure different effects of transportation. But more importantly, they were motivated to re-evaluate their beliefs about energy efficiency.
As one student put it: “People need to know more about fuel efficiency and the effect on the environment. I will try to encourage people to use more public transport, as I’ve seen it is less polluting and more efficient than using cars.”