The Gulf of Thailand's EEZ – Activists from Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior conducted a peaceful banner protest against a proposed offshore carbon capture and storage(CCS) site at the Arthit fossil gas field located in the Gulf of Thailand's exclusive economic zone[1] to highlight the fossil industry's greenwashing.
Greenpeace Thailand campaigner, Alliya Moun-Ob on board the Rainbow Warrior said, "With my own eyes, I can see the proposed CCS project at fossil gas field is doing nothing to do with a low-carbon pathway, but a license for the one of the biggest climate polluters in Thailand, PTT Exploration and Production Public Co Ltd (PTTEP), to continue killing our climate and making a lot of profit. We urged the Thai government to make polluters pay and to reform climate policy in such a way that it embraces a wide range of non-market-based solutions and approaches that are focused on people, and moves beyond carbon offset markets. We called on PTTEP to hold it accountable for its contribution to the climate crisis by stopping this carbon capture and storage plan immediately."
The Arthit fossil gas field is operated by PTTEP[2] [3], which is a joint-venture with Chevron. It will be the site of Thailand's first offshore carbon capture and storage project [4] and among at least 57 proposals for offshore carbon sequestration worldwide representing a new threat to the world's oceans and a dangerous distraction from real progress on climate change[5]. As outlined in its proposal, the project is designed to be a component of its ongoing offshore gas extraction. Between 700,000 and 1 million tons of CO2 per year would be separated from produced gas, then compressed and reinjected under the seabed for storage in saline aquifers and depleted gas fields[6]. A tremendous amount of energy is needed for each stage, along with potentially various risks to the marine ecosystem [7].
Thailand promotes itself as the regional hub for energy trading, allowing other countries to utilize its fossil gas-heavy power grid for cross-border trades. As fossil gas sources brought to land via pipelines controlled by PTTEP's mother company, PTT from both the gulf of Thailand and Myanmar are depleting fast, Thai policy makers have chosen to lock-in the country's energy system with costly and volatile imported liquid fossil gas. A study by Climate Finance Network Thailand (CFNT) indicates that Thailand is at a considerable financial risk of its fossil fuel infrastructure becoming stranding assets in the future [8] [9].
Those who advocate for Southeast Asia to transition to a clean renewable energy system are growing increasingly concerned about Thailand's reliance on fossil gas, according to Yeb Sano, the Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia who is also onboard the Rainbow Warrior.
Sano argues,"Thailand's position as a regional energy hub has the potential to influence neighboring countries. Moreover, the climate and biodiversity crises have had and will persistently have catastrophic impacts on Thai society and the rest of Southeast Asia. Addressing those threats through carbon capture and storage is completely wrong and aggravates climate injustice."
Nichanan Tanthanawit, the Project Lead for the Ocean Justice Campaign at Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said, "Our seas and oceans have already encountered a variety of existing pressures, including destructive fishing, acidification, marine heatwave, and the spread of microplastics. The global burden on the thriving oceans would be further exacerbated by offshore carbon capture and storage."
A month-long Ocean Justice Ship Tour in Thailand concluded with a peaceful protest at sea. Greenpeace Thailand has been conducting research in Pathio, Chumphon province as well as Chana, Songkhla province, in collaboration with coastal communities to support communities-led marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs). False solutions such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), fossil gas projects, and offshore fossil fuel extractions would endanger these regions and must be stopped at all cost.
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