The production of caprolactam stands as one of the main contributors to nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions worldwide. By singing a grant agreement on 28 March 2024, UBE Chemicals (Asia) Public Company Limited will receive financial support from the Nitric Acid Climate Action Group (NACAG) to procure and install N2O secondary abatement technologies in their caprolactam production unit. This technology is projected to abate greenhouse gas emissions by at least 0.1 MtCO2eq annually. To contextualize, approximately 60,000 passengers would need to fly from Berlin to Bangkok to generate an equivalent amount of GHG emissions.
Dr. Phirun Saiyasitpanich, Director-General of the Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE) and representative of Natural Resource and Environment (MNRE), Mr. Hans-Ulrich Südbeck, Deputy Chief of Mission, German Embassy Bangkok, Mr. Reinhold Elges, Director of GIZ Thailand, Mr. Watchara Pattananijnirundorn, President and CEO of UBE Chemicals (Asia) Public Company Limited, and Mr. Benjaphol Tangsripairoje, Executive Vice President of UBE Chemicals (Asia) Public Company Limited, and Board of Directors of UBE Chemicals (Asia) Public Company Limited participated in the ceremony marking the signing of the grant agreement on March 28, 2024.
‘This project is an example of a good collaboration between public and private partnership to contribute to GHG emission mitigation. It demonstrates the intention of the government to support the private companies to contribute to national goal’ said Dr. Phirun Saiyasitpanich. This grant will aid the government in promoting actions to mitigate GHG emissions towards achieving national NDC targets.
The Department of Climate Change and Environment, in conjunction with NACAG, will jointly oversee the progress of nitrous oxide emission reduction technologies in the caprolactam industry.This initiative is an important step to reduce GHG emissions within the Industrial Process and Product Use (IPPU) sector, and aligns with the goals set in Thailand’s NDC.
Thailand was one of the first countries in south-east Asia that expressed commitment to phasing out nitrous oxide (N2O) emission within 3 years from 2023 onwards. ‘This demonstrated the intention of national contribution on GHG emission mitigation for serving global goal on GHG emission mitigation. It also illustrates the success story for climate action in Thailand and the cooperation between Thai and German’, said Mr. Hans-Ulrich Südbeck, Deputy Chief of Mission, German Embassy Bangkok.
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