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Low-carbon future has in recent years recurred as a strategic element in energy and climate planning. The transition towards a low-carbon society requires fundamental changes in both the energy systems and in the ways that society adapts to large transformations. These changes cannot happen by themselves, but require purposeful mechanisms and measures steered by government and other actors in society. Actions are required at all levels of government from international to local. Thailand needs to transform its energy system to effectively address concerns about a range of environmental problems. This paper provides an analysis of Thailand's carbon governance structure as applied to the energy systems. The study applies a multi-level governance framework to understand the policy environment. It presents the elements of existing energy and climate governance and an examination of modeling exercises of the existing literature. It is concluded that multi-level governance enables integration of divergent perspectives and helps steer the course of responsible development. The paper also provides some recommendations on issues related to the governance challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses decomposition analysis to investigate the key contributions to changes in greenhouse gas emissions in different scenarios. We derive decomposition formulas for the three highest-emitting sectors: power generation, industry, and transportation (both passenger and freight). These formulas were applied to recently developed 1.5 °C emission scenarios by the Integrated Model to Assess the Global Environment (IMAGE), emphasising the role of renewables and lifestyle changes. The decomposition analysis shows that carbon capture and storage (CCS), both from fossil fuel and bioenergy burning, renewables and reducing carbon intensity provide the largest contributions to emission reduction in the scenarios. Efficiency improvement is also critical, but part of the potential is already achieved in the Baseline scenario. The relative importance of different emission reduction drivers is similar in the OECD (characterised by relatively high per capita income levels and emissions) and non-OECD (characterised by relatively high carbon intensities of the economy) region, but there are some noteworthy differences. In the non-OECD region, improving efficiency in industry and transport and increasing the share of renewables in power generation are more important in reducing emissions than in the OECD region, while CCS in power generation and electrification of passenger transport are more important drivers in the OECD region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]