Thailand is considering proposals to allow businesses to offset as much as 15% of their greenhouse gas pollution with carbon credits in a planned emissions trading system.
The strategy is intended to help stimulate development of the country's voluntary carbon market, said Suraphon Buphakosum, vice president and head of the sustainability service development at the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), which is involved in the market’s development.
"Thailand wants to support and promote the country’s voluntary carbon market, especially for forestry projects," Mr Suraphon said on Tuesday in an interview. "While it's still subject to government approval, the scheme will only allow credits from nature-based projects."
Thailand aims to have an emissions trading system in full operation by 2030 and is preparing to impose a carbon tax of 200 baht (US$5.94) per tonne on oil products.
Allowing polluters to offset 15% of emissions would be more lenient than policies in some other markets in Asia. Singapore currently allows firms to use credits to account for as much as 5% of taxable emissions.
Thailand, which has a target to achieve net zero emissions by 2065, has identified about 2,166 facilities across sectors including energy, construction, transportation and agriculture that would be covered by its cap-and-trade mechanism, BloombergNEF said in a January report.
Authorities plan to collect data between 2027 and 2028, followed by a pilot phase in 2029, Mr Suraphon said on the sidelines of the Carbon Forward conference in Singapore.
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