On 3 December 2025, Dr. Surachai Sathitkunarat, President of NXPO, participated in the “SUSTAINABILITY FORUM 2026: Shift Forward – Overcoming Challenges,” organized by Bangkok Biz News at Samyan Mitrtown. He delivered a presentation on “Scale up the Sustainable Innovation,” emphasizing the urgent need to drive an innovation-based economy, as Thailand can no longer rely solely on traditional competitive advantages such as low labor costs or tourism.
Dr. Surachai identified climate change as a critical national challenge and outlined three urgent priorities: 1) Advancing technology and innovation – While challenging, this is the only path that can effectively address global warming; 2) Addressing workforce issues – Thailand still lacks high-skilled labor in several fields, particularly in green skills and climate tech, making it essential to train new personnel and update curricula to meet industry needs; and 3) Adapting to global value chain standards – Countries are now required to measure and report carbon emissions according to international standards.
He noted that global trends in renewable energy, greenhouse gas reduction, and biotechnology present significant opportunities for Thailand. These include clean energy production, agricultural adaptation, and leveraging biotechnology to increase productivity in the agricultural sector. Thailand has strong potential to generate substantial added value while enabling farmers to benefit more from innovations. The country aims to achieve net zero emissions within 15 years, supported by a research system reform six years ago that provides over THB 20 billion annually in research funding. This effort is complemented by a national policy framework for higher education, science, research, and innovation, supporting research in clean energy, circular economy, sustainability, and pollution management. Thai researchers are actively engaged in critical areas such as waste management, clean energy, disaster management, and PM2.5 air pollution.
In addition to its role as a policy agency, NXPO serves as Thailand’s National Designated Entity (NDE) under the UNFCCC, coordinating the development and transfer of climate technologies. This ensures that Thailand receives necessary support from developed countries. NXPO also collaborates with the Department of Climate Change and Environment as the country’s main representative in negotiating technology mechanisms suitable for Thailand. Furthermore, NXPO has supported the “Saraburi Sandbox” project, Thailand’s pilot net zero emission innovation zone.
On workforce development, Dr. Surachai highlighted that private sector and industry surveys show a high demand for green skills. In response, NXPO, in collaboration with universities and the private sector, has developed new curricula to produce personnel with skills aligned with national needs. A course accreditation platform also allows businesses to receive tax incentives when employees participate in approved training programs.
For long-term policy planning, Dr. Surachai explained that a foresight process covering legal, political, social, environmental, and technological factors is used in higher education and science policy planning to ensure research investments and workforce development align with climate change challenges and global needs. The current plan runs until 2027, setting targets for Thailand to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advance innovation, and realign university graduate outputs to meet future environmental and economic challenges.
