{"id":67710,"date":"2025-08-26T03:51:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T03:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/?p=67710"},"modified":"2025-08-26T03:51:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T03:51:05","slug":"coastal-communities-bear-the-brunt-of-thailands-lng-boom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/coastal-communities-bear-the-brunt-of-thailands-lng-boom\/","title":{"rendered":"Coastal Communities Bear the Brunt of Thailand\u2019s LNG Boom [Op-Ed]"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Thailand is gradually moving away from coal and oil as part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. A major part of this transition<\/a> is the\u00a0expansion\u00a0of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure. However, although cleaner than coal, LNG is still a fossil fuel, and experts warn that its production and transport contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we increase our natural gas production, our share in the global greenhouse gas emissions will increase,\u201d said Syed Anees Haider Zaidi, a visiting professor at the University of Warsaw\u2019s faculty of economic sciences who studies<\/a> the environmental impacts of energy in the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the eastern coastal province of Rayong, this LNG boom is also negatively impacting the environment, with campaigners calling for the government to shift its focus to renewables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thailand\u2019s LNG Push<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To meet its carbon neutrality target, Thailand aims to increase the share of renewable electricity to 74%<\/a> of total electricity generation by 2050, from 15%<\/a> as of April 2025. In the meantime, Thailand remains the largest<\/a> consumer of natural gas among ASEAN countries, using it to generate electricity, according to a 2025 report from the intergovernmental ASEAN Centre for Energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the US Energy Information Administration describes, natural gas largely comprises methane extracted<\/a> from underground reserves. It can then be converted into LNG for easier transportation and use in electricity generation. Though it emits less carbon dioxide than oil or coal, LNG\u2019s production and use still carry serious environmental risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With LNG supplies from the Gulf of Thailand and Myanmar declining<\/a> due to depleted resources and the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, Witoon Permpongsacharoen, a researcher at the Mekong Energy and Ecology Network, told Dialogue Earth that Thailand is increasingly reliant on imports from the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country\u2019s Power Development Plan 2018-2037<\/a> promotes electricity generation from natural gas to maintain economic stability. According to the ASEAN Centre for Energy, clean energy technologies are considered quite costly and lacking in investment. Its report states that while the country works to build up and invest in its wind and solar energy options, natural gas offers a more affordable<\/a> way of reducing the use of damaging fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerry Arances, executive director at the Centre for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) in the Philippines, said LNG is being positioned<\/a> as a transition fuel, and more countries are seeing natural gas as a bridging fuel to transition to renewable sources eventually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impact on Rayong<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rayong, a province on Thailand\u2019s eastern coast, has become a hub for this energy strategy, where, once imported, the country\u2019s LNG imports are re-gasified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two LNG terminals operate there: one run<\/a> by state-owned oil and gas company PTT, and another<\/a> jointly managed by PTT and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. Rayong also hosts several coal-fired power plants and petrochemical facilities. The province is part of the Eastern Economic Corridor<\/a> (EEC), a special industrial zone with relaxed regulations to encourage foreign direct investment in vehicles, electronic products and biotechnology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Somnuck Jongmeewasin, research director at EEC Watch, a network of civil society groups, it is the biggest industrial estate in Thailand. But this industrial concentration has come at a cost: oil spills<\/a>, air pollution<\/a>, water contamination<\/a>, and waste have severely affected local communities. Many worry that increased natural gas production will only make things worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor over three decades, the people of Rayong have suffered from severe air and water pollution, oil spills and hazardous waste dumping as a result of unchecked fossil fuel growth,\u201d Chariya Senpong, energy transition campaign team leader of Greenpeace Thailand, said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cLocal communities, particularly fisherfolk and farmers, have seen their health deteriorate, their livelihoods destroyed, and their [lives] threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the damage, plans are underway to install more gas turbines<\/a> and build a third<\/a> LNG terminal in Map Ta Phut in Rayong by 2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe more we expand fossil gas in Map Ta Phut \u2013 either with a power plant or LNG terminal \u2013 the more we see the local community in that area will be exposed to a new threat,\u201d said Tara Buakamsri, an advisor to Greenpeace Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollution and Health Impacts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

LNG terminals can damage the environment in different ways. Their initial construction disturbs marine life<\/a> and, post-construction, there is potential for gas leaks \u2013 specifically methane, which is over 80 times<\/a> more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute. Rayong has already experienced devastating oil spills<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A vessel participating in the cleanup of an oil spill off the coast of Rayong province in 2013, caused by a pipeline leak (Image: Associated Press \/ Alamy)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Arances, an increase in ships delivering gas also creates more noise pollution<\/a>, disrupting marine life, and there is potential for water contamination. He highlighted that scientific testing<\/a> conducted in various countries found that many pollutant limits have been exceeded in their marine protected areas due to the development of natural gas industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jongmeewasin believes the pollution and contamination have been causing some aquatic animals in Rayong\u2019s waters to dwindle in number and size. As a result, he said, fisherfolk in Rayong have seen steep declines<\/a> in their catches, pushing them to find other means of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Thailand, the area has become synonymous with pollution, so the province\u2019s tourism industry could also suffer. Rayong was recently named Asia\u2019s top \u201cslow travel\u201d<\/a> destination by online travel agency Agoda, but Jongmeewasin believes many local tourists \u201cnow go to Pattaya, Trat or Phuket instead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are health risks too. \u201cFossil gas power plants are a major culprit<\/a> of air pollution, PM2.5. They release nitrogen dioxide pollution from the combustion process,\u201d said Buakamsri, who believes exposure to chemicals is to blame for the higher prevalence<\/a> of cancers in the area. PM2.5 exposure has been linked<\/a> to a range of cancers. \u201cPeople are exposed to carcinogenic chemicals on a daily basis,\u201d said Buakamsri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Penchom Saetang, founding executive director of the environmental non-profit Ecological Alert and Recovery \u2013 Thailand (EARTH), highlights that in Thailand, companies are not required to disclose to the public the quantities of toxic chemicals they release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have some regulations that demand measurements of concentration of some types of air and water pollutants, but the concentrations tell [us] nothing about volume or quantity of the emissions of toxic chemicals, of which hundreds are released into the environment,\u201d she said. That means a pollutant with a low level of toxicity can be released in high volumes without being disclosed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, Rayong communities have protested<\/a> and filed lawsuits against the government to protect their land from further exploitation and safeguard their health. One lawsuit<\/a>, filed in 2009, stopped two industry-focused projects from proceeding due to the absence of adequate health impact assessments, and pushed the government to study environmental issues in the area. However, this didn\u2019t stop dozens of other projects from going ahead, often with foreign backing. In 2021, China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau Engineering Co. and China Petroleum Engineering won a bid<\/a> to replace Thailand\u2019s first LNG plant in Rayong with a new one. PTT has also been looking to trade<\/a> LNG to meet the rising demand from China and other Asian countries. The current LNG terminals supply Japanese-backed power plants<\/a>. Japan is one of the largest investors<\/a> in LNG production in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Redirecting to Renewables<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rather than investing further in natural gas, campaigners call for the government to focus on renewables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arances cited studies<\/a> that show countries can go straight to renewable energy rather than transitioning from coal to natural gas and then renewable energy sources at a later stage. \u201cThat should be the development agenda of Southeast Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cThe sun is always up, and it\u2019s really mind-boggling why Southeast Asia doesn\u2019t tap into that resource [more]. And we\u2019re not limited to solar energy. Wind energy is abundant\u2026 Some countries are very rich in geothermal. Some countries are very rich in hydro.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groups like EARTH are also pushing for the government to establish a Pollutant Release and Transfer Register law,<\/a> which would mandate companies to report the quantities of chemical substances they release to the public. \u201cIf we know that hundreds of factories in Rayong province are emitting beyond the capacity of the area to bear, it will be [easier] for the government and regulatory agencies to control and solve the problem,\u201d said Saetang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zaidi, the professor, added that stronger methane regulations are needed. \u201cIf we are inviting Chinese, Japanese, or other companies, then we should say: \u2018If you are planning to mine in Thailand, or if you are planning to export natural gas, we have these emission standards you need to abide by\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jongmeewasin\u2019s proposed solution is more drastic: halt all new plant construction and scrap the EEC\u2019s special economic rules that allow companies to damage the environment. \u201cThe EEC should stop acting like this\u2026 and [there should be] no more special economic zones again in Thailand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Rebecca L. Root<\/strong> is a journalist from the UK based in Bangkok, Thailand. She has a background in global development and climate change journalism and has written for various publications while living and working in New York, London and Barcelona.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Energy Tracker Asia.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was first published on Dialogue Earth<\/a> and republished with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thailand’s push to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 relies heavily on expanding LNG infrastructure, but this fossil fuel remains a significant environmental and health threat. Communities in Rayong face pollution, water contamination, and health risks, raising urgent questions about whether Southeast Asia\u2019s energy transition is sustainable. If policymakers act now, the push for renewables offers a safer, cleaner alternative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":67711,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[369],"tags":[],"hashtags":[],"class_list":["post-67710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion-pieces"],"acf":{"custom_author_name":"Rebecca L. Root","article_pdf_file":false,"poll_vote":0,"manage_the_date":"global","short_desc":"Thailand's push to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 relies heavily on expanding LNG infrastructure, but this fossil fuel remains a significant environmental and health threat. Communities in Rayong face pollution, water contamination, and health risks, raising urgent questions about whether Southeast Asia\u2019s energy transition is sustainable. If policymakers act now, the push for renewables offers a safer, cleaner alternative.","show_in_lastest_from_the_region":"0","order":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67710"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67824,"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67710\/revisions\/67824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67710"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energytracker.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=67710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}