Governments have relied on reactive financial mechanisms to cope with unexpected disasters. In this article, Rapeepat would like to introduce a proactive financial instrument for disaster risk management: catastrophe bonds.
The 2025 southern flood crisis reflects Thailand’s continued failure in responding to water disasters. It may now be time to shift away from grey infrastructure to nature-based water management—just as the Netherlands has demonstrated through its “Room for the River” policy.
As Southeast Asia becomes the world's second-fastest-growing electricity market, the region faces two main paths. One is to commit to massive infrastructure to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The other path is accelerating renewable energy adoption, which requires a major update of the regional grid.
The draft PDP2024 outlines the country's power for the next two decades. Here are five key takeaways that policymakers and energy planners should seriously consider.
Thailand is taking a significant step towards renewable energy, targeting half of its electricity generation from renewable sources by 2037 under the recently drafted Power Development Plan 2024 (PDP2024). However, achieving this goal is dependent on the Asean Power Grid, a region-wide initiative first proposed in 1997 to interconnect the electricity infrastructures of Asean member […]
Thailand’s rising electricity costs are not just a concern for businesses; they are placing a financial burden on schools. In 2023, a local business daily, Bangkok Biz, reported that many schools were struggling with high electricity liabilities. For example, Mahidol Wittayanusorn School, located on the Salaya Campus of Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom province, faces […]
Last year turned out to be one of the most expensive on record in terms of insurance payments resulting from natural disasters. In 2024, financial claims made to insurance companies reached copy40 billion, the third most expensive year for insurers in the last four decades, according to Munich Re’s report, titled “Climate change is showing […]
At first glance, the idea of combining agriculture with solar energy seems far-fetched. How can crops and solar panels compete for the same sunlight? My view changed after I visited the Sosa Mega Solar Sharing site in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, last month. As part of a media tour organised by Mekong Watch, a Japanese non-profit […]
At COP29 in Baku, carbon credits ignited intense debate from the very start. While Azerbaijan, the host nation, celebrated progress on Article 6, climate justice groups criticised carbon markets for enabling major polluters to continue emitting greenhouse gases. A carbon credit represents the right to emit one metric tonne of CO2 equivalent or an equivalent […]
hailand's electricity prices remain stubbornly high, burdening consumers and businesses alike. The current and former governments have tried to tackle this problem without much luck. Subsidies are a short-term tonic, but they have created new financial burdens. It is about time to ask what makes electricity costs so high and what needs to be changed at a fundamental level.