August 4, 2026
Carbon markets have moved to the forefront of corporate and regulatory agendas as global attention to climate change and sustainability intensifies. Worldwide, many jurisdictions—including Thailand—are finding carbon markets to be promising tools in their efforts to combat climate-warming emissions and accelerate their net-zero pathways and sustainability commitments. According to the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization’s (TGO) 2025 Voluntary Carbon Market Survey, approximately 3.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂eq) were traded under Thailand’s domestic standard between 2020 and 2024 with a cumulative market value of approximately THB 314.5 million (approximately USD 9.43 million), and 524 projects had been registered under the Thailand Voluntary Emission Reduction Program (T-VER) framework. Carbon Credits in Thailand Thailand’s carbon credit regime is, at present, entirely voluntary. There is not yet any obligation for businesses to purchase or retire carbon credits, although this may change once the draft Climate Change Act is enacted. The draft Climate Change Act, which is currently undergoing legal review before submission to Parliament, is expected to introduce a mandatory emissions trading system (ETS), under which legal entities in designated sectors will be allocated emissions allowances and will be required to surrender sufficient allowances to cover their verified emissions, with penalties for shortfalls. Rather than imposing a blanket obligation on all businesses to purchase or retire carbon credits, the draft act is expected to allow ETS-covered entities to use eligible carbon credits (for example, those certified under T-VER) to meet only a limited, capped portion of their compliance obligation, with the applicable cap and eligibility criteria to be set out in subordinate regulations and the relevant allocation plan. The principal domestic framework for carbon credits is the T-VER, administered by the TGO. While some project developers in Thailand also operate under international standards such as Verified Carbon Standard or the Gold