Mahonj -

I completely agree, conservation *ought* to be the primary strategy. However, as elsewhere, Thailand has business tycoons with political connections that are interested in making money off this. Note that Thailand is run by the army right now.

I expect fuel tax hikes, vehicle license fee hikes, congestion charges and government campaigns to improve driving styles would all be just as unpopular/ ineffective in Thailand as anywhere else. This does not make them bad ideas, just hard to implement - all the more so given the near-permanent traffic jams in Thailand's major cities. The only way car owners might be prepared to pay more is if the incremental revenue were used to fund mass transit infrastructure (e.g. subways) in the most congested areas.

Fuel-saving engine technology will be adopted by Thailand and other emerging economies as and when they can afford it. The simplest strategy would be to provide incentives that raise the market share of modern turbodiesel engines in the new vehicle mix. It's just that this would aggravate an already serious air quality problem, unless expensive mitigation technology is mandated as well. Average Thai consumers can no more afford that than they can afford electric hybrids.