Thailand

Thailand has been considering economic instruments to incentivize GHG emissions reductions for several years. The 2018 “National Reform Plan” mandated the Thai government to begin developing such instruments. The Emission Trading Scheme, Carbon Tax on Products, and Crediting Mechanism are some of the potential economic instruments to be implemented; further details on these will be provided in the policy and legislative processes that follow the development of the framework for the “Climate Change Act”. The Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE) is currently drafting the act for the public hearing process as well as working on implementing the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). The final draft is expected to be submitted for cabinet and parliamentary approval in 2024 to 2025.

In 2013, the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO) began developing an MRV system and basic trading infrastructures for the Thailand Voluntary Emissions Trading Scheme (Thailand V-ETS).  This voluntary pilot project aims to develop and test MRV systems, cap-setting and allocation procedures, and trading infrastructure for 12 GHG-intensive sectors. Targets are set for each sector based on their average emissions intensity in the base years of 2012 to 2013. Both direct and indirect emissions are covered. As a voluntary system, allowances are provided for free based on MRV reporting. Based on TGO’s feasibility study and pilot implementation test cases, covered entities may be allowed to use offset credits from Thailand’s domestic crediting mechanism, Thailand Voluntary Emission Reduction (T-VER) credits, to meet up to 15% of their compliance obligations. Supporting these initiatives, TGO regularly conducts capacity building activities to engage key stakeholders across Thailand.

Since 2021, TGO has collaborated with the Eastern Economic Corridor Office of Thailand to develop a pilot ETS in its Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) region. The project aimed to conduct engagement, build up capacity on ETS implementation for pilot organizations, and provide technical assistance on T-VER project development. Several pilot organizations fulfilled their ETS Capacity building program, 12 in 2022 and 11 in 2023.