644 Thai firms well-armed in case an EU-US carbon war erupts
With Joe Biden set to be sworn in as US president on January 20, 2021 if all goes well, many countries are wondering if the US-China trade war will come to an end or if a technology war will erupt.
People are also waiting to see if Biden decides to return to the Paris Climate Agreement and invest more than US$2 trillion in clean energy and moves to reduce global warming.
President Donald Trump had announced on June 1, 2017, that the United States will cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Biden’s decision, however, may possibly lead to a carbon war and force partner countries to require labelling of carbon footprint and impose a carbon tax on products exported to the US.
Wisit Limluecha, vice chairman of the Thai National Shippers’ Council, said Thailand is ready to cope with this.
So far, more than 4,472 products in 18 key industry groups have passed the carbon footprint assessment (assessment of the amount of greenhouse gas emitted over the lifecycle of a product or service from raw material source, transportation, use and post-use waste management) and obtained the carbon footprint label from the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation.
Most of the products are in the food and beverage industry followed by construction, petroleum and jewellery. More than 644 companies have registered for the label.
"Most products exported by large firms already have the carbon footprint label. Though the system is expensive to set up, it helps reduce costs in the long run. Thailand is considered to be the most alert and ready country in the Asean region in terms of carbon footprint. From now on, it will be necessary to help small businesses follow climate-friendly practises to help boost their competitiveness. Neither Europe nor the US require carbon footprint labelling yet, but we have to prepare. Many exporters are taking advantage of the label to boost their exports,” Wisit said.
The European Union is expected to impose an additional tax on goods that are manufactured using processes that emit carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases and do not meet EU standards. This scheme is should be enforced in 2023.
