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The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Vol. 30 No. 3 Jul.-Sep. 2005 722 The Role of Thai Energy Policy and Strategies in Sustainable Development 3. Thailand’s Energy Policy Framework With a view to reducing depen- dency on imported energy and strengthening energy supply security in order to achieve sustainable de- velopment, the Thai government has emphasized secure, adequate energy supply and sustainable energy use while mitigating the impact of energy development and utilization on the environment through the following energy policy framework: • to promote energy supply diversities, emphasizing the use of indigenous energy resources, such as natural gas; • to promote efficient procure- ment and use of alternative energy sources; and • to emphasize energy manage- ment to increase competitiveness of Thailand’s production sector and to enhance stability of energy prices. 4. Thailand’s Energy Strategies The cabinet passed a resolution at its meeting on 2 September 2003 approving the targets and strategies for the national energy development, as presented by the Ministry of En- ergy. The objectives are to enhance energy supply security, to increase energy efficiency of the country, to enhance Thailand to be the “Regional Energy Center” and to provide access to energy with fair prices so as to improve the quality of life of people nationwide. In this regard, the Mi- nistry of Energy has proposed the targets, among others, to reduce the national energy elasticity, or the ratio of energy consumption growth rate to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, from 1.4:1 to 1:1 by the year 2007 and to increase the share of renewable energy in the national energy mix from 0.5% to 8% by 2011. In this connection, four major strategic plans in the energy sector have been formulated as follows : a) Strategic Plan for Energy Efficiency b) Strategic Plan for New& Renewable Energy Development c) Strategic Plan for Energy Security Enhancement d) Strategic Plan for Thailand to Be the “Regional Energy Center.” a) Strategic Plan for Energy Ef- ficiency An important strategy to help decrease the growth rate of the na- tional commercial energy demand is to increase energy efficiency and eco- nomic value of energy consumption. The proactive national energy policy matrix is, therefore, aimed at reduc- ing the national energy elasticity from 1.4:1 to 1:1 by the year 2007. The implementation under this strategy involves the study, R&D and support to bring about efficient use of energy in the transportation, indus- trial and household sectors. Impor- tance is attached to the two major energy intensive sectors, that is, transportation and industrial sectors which accounted for about 38% and 36% of the total energy demand respectively in 2004. The implemen- tation is expected to help save 20- 25% of energy consumption by the year 2009, equivalent to 169 billion baht, which means a substantial re- duction of dependency on imported energy. • Energy Efficiency Improve- ment in the Transportation Sector In the transportation sector, in order to increase energy efficiency, emphasis is placed on the improve- ment of efficient multi-mode trans- portation infrastructure. Thailand’s mass transport networks will undergo a massive 900 billion Baht (or 22 billion US $ ) expansion to improve access and reduce oil consumption. Investment by both the public and private sectors will be encou- raged in the multi-modal transport system, coastal navigation and logis- tic networks related to transportation. Focus will be on the improvement and promotion of greater use of the energy-efficient rail mode for both freight and passenger transport, in- stead of using cars and light/heavy trucks. Also, oil transportation via pipeline networks will be promoted. The mass transport infrastruc- ture in Bangkok and suburbs will be integrated and expanded. It is ex- pected that the implementation of this mega-project will be completed within 5 years. • Energy Efficiency Improve- ment in the Industrial Sector For the industrial sector, em- phasis is placed on the improvement of the industrial structure to increase competitive potential and review of