Thailand is drawing up a plan to help workers, small businesses and communities adjust to a low-carbon economy, as it seeks to attract green investment while managing the costs of changing how it generates electricity, manufactures goods and moves people.
An agreement signed on 17 October between the country’s Department of Climate Change and Environment and Krungthai Bank will support development of a national just transition roadmap, initially covering energy and transport before expanding to agriculture and industry, according to government news service NNT.
The planning effort highlights a challenge extending beyond investment in cleaner technology: whether businesses and workers exposed to economic disruption can access the finance, skills and opportunities needed to adapt.
Thailand has opportunities to expand green manufacturing and improve energy security. But its electricity system remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, while its export industries face growing pressure to reduce emissions.
Fossil fuels accounted for 83 per cent of Thailand’s electricity generation in 2025, according to energy think tank Ember. Wind and solar supplied 7 per cent.
At the same time, the World Bank has identified electric vehicles, solar equipment and energy-efficient air conditioners as areas where Thailand could benefit from international demand for greener products.
Its 2025 Country Climate and Development Report said stronger skills, domestic innovation and reforms to trade and market-entry barriers could help increase green exports by the equivalent of 2 to 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030. Cutting emissions could also lower power and transport costs and strengthen energy security, it said.
Capturing those gains requires policies that address the effects on employment and household finances alongside the needs of investors, according to the report.
A just transition seeks to distribute the costs and benefits of decarbonisation fairly, including through retraining, social protection and support for affected local economies. International Labour Organization guidelines call for governments, workers and employers to participate in dialogue throughout policymaking.
Thailand’s roadmap is intended to identify measures to manage those effects and examine financial mechanisms involving government, private investors and multilateral development banks.
Krungthai has committed an initial THB20 million (US$594,300) to support the work. Department director-general Phirun Saiyasitpanich said the cooperation would help smaller businesses, farmers, workers and communities adapt to the low-carbon transition, according to the Bangkok Insight.
However, published accounts reviewed for this report did not specify a completion deadline, how worker and community representatives would participate, or a separate budget to implement the roadmap’s recommendations. They also did not detail allocations for retraining, income support or other direct assistance.
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the distinction between financing cleaner infrastructure and funding the social adjustment is central to the wider regional transition.
Indonesia and Vietnam launched Just Energy Transition Partnerships in 2022 with initial public and private financing pledges of US$20 billion and US$15.5 billion respectively, aiming to accelerate cleaner electricity and reduce reliance on coal.
But turning pledges into projects has proved difficult. A study published in April 2026 in the Journal of Southeast Asian Economies identified slow disbursement, limited grant funding and disagreements over financing conditions as obstacles in both countries.
Drawing on 30 stakeholder interviews, the researchers said the United States’ withdrawal from the partnerships in 2025 had further weakened trust. Germany said the partnerships could continue, emphasising that reliable regulation was needed to attract private investment.
Alongside the roadmap, Thailand is exploring financing mechanisms for industrial decarbonisation.
Under a separate agreement signed on 17 October, the climate department, Krungthai and energy company PTT agreed to study blended financing and carbon-credit mechanisms for the I-SPARK low-carbon industrial platform in the Map Ta Phut–Rayong area.
The finance ministry said the initiative aims to attract private capital into low-carbon energy, shared infrastructure and speciality, bio-based and circular industries.
