Problem overview:

     Awareness and visions: With the awareness that biomass fuel is non-renewable and that market prices for fuel will always be on an upward trend, the Government of Thailand has decided that it is time to promote energy conservation and efficient energy use in the country to reduce the demand for fuel within the country.

     Policies and measures: Taxes have been imposed on all types of fuel except for natural gas and one part of the revenue generated from fuel tax will be used to fund the Energy Conservation Fund, which promotes energy conservation and efficient use of energy in Thailand.

Background in summary:

     Reasons for establishing the Energy Conservation Fund: In March 1992, the Government of Thailand has passed the Energy Conservation Promotion Act. In conjunction with the legislation, the Energy Conservation Fund (ENCON) was established to provide financial support to government agencies, state enterprises, non-government organizations, individuals and businesses that wish to follow the Act by implementing measures to increase efficiency in energy utilization.

     The objectives of the Energy Conservation Programme are to promote:

• Energy conservation
  
  
• Efficient use of energy
  
  
• Sustainable use of natural resources
  
  
• Development and use of renewable energy sources
  
  
• Development of Energy Conservation (ENCON) technology, and
  
  
• Environmental protection
  
  

     Imposing tax for generating income for energy conservation programmes: The energy sector of Thailand is one of the very few sectors that directly transfer tax money on petroleum products into funds for solving environmental problems created by the use of energy. Also, the ENCON Fund Tax has been imposed directly for the purpose of generating money for solving energy related environmental problems, and also to promote sustainable use of energy. As compared to other cases where taxes are imposed to discourage use, such as, excise tax on liqueurs or cigarettes.

See also Percentage of unleaded gasoline retail price going to various taxes

Peer Review Committee Good practice rating: (1 for the best, 5 for the lowest score)
Sustainability		Efficiency
3	Improvement in either the environment of economic condition with no harm to the other.	2	Cost efficient.
2	Sustainable over time (not one-off)	Process
Adaptability		4	Participation of the community
3	Location adaptability (can the project be done in other places?)	1	Participation of resource owners/users
3	Socio-cultural adaptability.	2	Partnerships between various actors (Governments, NGO, Academia, Private)
3	Level of development adaptability.	2	Degree of coordination and cooperation between government departments.
2	Style of government adaptability.	2	Ability to attract political interest/support
3	Degree of decentralization adaptability.	-	Procedures for feedback and review.
Comments on this example:   Sustainability of the project:       Energy conservation needs to be promoted extensively in order to reduce the demand for energy consumption. The Energy Conservation Programme of Thailand has programmes for demand-side management to promote public awareness. The programme has 2 initial goals; one, to acknowledge the public of the existence of the Energy Conservation Programme, and two, to make aware of the need for energy conservation.       So far, the programme has been successfully made well-known to the public and the public is aware of energy conservation needs to a certain level. Nevertheless, the question that arises here is "Has the public made any changes in their behavior or consumption pattern to be more energy conservative?" Theoretically, awareness programmes are for the purpose of creating awareness. However, if public behavior does not change after the campaign then all the money spent would be a total waist. Thailand has been spending a sum of approximately Baht 1,114.62 million (equivalent to US$ 27.89 million) annually to finance public awareness programmes. Adaptability of the project to other situations:   Process of decision making and implementation:       Therefore, in the second phase, follow-up programmes to encourage actual implementation of energy conservation practices should be carried out. In the meantime, feedback programmes, such as, extensive public survey, should also be executed, to compare how behavioral patterns have changed and/or how energy demand has changed. Cost efficiency: