The Asia-Pacific Integrated Model (AIM) and policymaking for low carbon growth in Asia: A case study of Thailand

This case study shows how the Asia-Pacific Integrated Model (AIM) has been used in Thailand to inform policymaking for low carbon, climate resilient growth. AIM is a set of computer simulation models for assessing options – primarily policy and technology choices – to reduce or slow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. Users can model a wide range of social and economic activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration, including energy consumption, changing land use, and industrial production, and gain understanding on the resultant effects of greenhouse gas emissions on climate, the economy, and human welfare.

Thailand is the second largest economy in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the second-largest emitter of CO2 in the ASEAN region after Indonesia. For more than a decade, the Thai government has applied AIM to assist with development of policies and initiatives to reduce the growth in greenhouse gas emissions, improve the efficiency of the economy, and follow a more sustainable development path.