Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand is accelerating its transition toward a low-carbon economy following the Cabinet approval of the Climate Change Bill.
Speaking at the “Sustainability Spark by PTT Group 2026” forum, Acting Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said the House of Representatives had passed the bill at its second reading before being dissolved in December 2025.
The legislation is expected to be enacted after a new government is formed following the February 8 election. He noted that the proposed low-carbon economic framework aligns with the bill and is essential to paving the way for carbon taxation and a national emissions trading system.
Ekniti highlighted carbon pricing as a key element of the bill, saying its implementation would help attract large-scale investment in clean energy, improve fuel-combustion efficiency, promote the use of renewable energy in place of fossil fuels, and encourage the use of carbon credits to offset greenhouse gas emissions. He added that clean-energy investment is expected to increase following the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and similar measures elsewhere.
He stressed that substantial capital would be required for clean-energy infrastructure, prompting the government to propose the establishment of a dedicated infrastructure fund with initial capital from the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and metropolitan and provincial power utilities. The fund aims to ease financial pressure on these entities and help limit public debt that could affect baht stability.
Meanwhile, Kongkrapan Intarajang, CEO of Thailand’s national oil and gas group PTT, said the company has adopted a long-term plan to cut carbon emissions and targets net-zero emissions by 2050.
Acknowledging PTT as one of the country’s largest emitters, he said the firm is preparing a pilot underground carbon storage facility with a capacity of 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, envisioned as a model for a national carbon capture and storage project under which the government aims to store 60 million tonnes annually by 2050./.
