Natural Resources and Environment, Finance ministries get ready to launch the ‘Reforestation for Carbon Credit’ campaign

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE)’s permanent secretary Jatuporn Buruspat on Tuesday (September 13) met with his counterpart from Finance Ministry, Krisda Chinavicharana, to discuss policies to drive the ‘Reforestation for Carbon Credit’ campaign to be jointly operated by the two ministries.

The campaign is part of the government’s effort to achieve the goal of Thailand becoming carbon neutral in 2050 and emitting zero greenhouse gas in 2065. It is also expected to benefit the country in several aspects such as improving Thailand’s forest resources, generating income for local communities, maximising economic opportunities and reducing tax barriers imposed by foreign trade partners. The campaign will be launched once all related laws and regulations are finalised.

Jatuporn said that Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa has tasked departments under MNRE to study the project’s feasibility and legal principles to allow private partners to plant forests on government lands in exchange for carbon credit and tax benefits.

“We have discussed with the Finance Ministry to facilitate this move, which will allow the general public to benefit from new forests and help the government save on the reforestation cost at several hundred million baht per year,” he said. “The Royal Forest Department, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources will be the three main agencies to drive the implementation of the project, while the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation (TGO) will serve as a central agency responsible for carbon credit trading among participating partners.”

Jatuporn added that MNRE and Finance Ministry are also drafting tax benefits for project participants, such as tax exemption equal to twice the expenses in the project, or tax breaks based on the number of carbon credit gained.

Krisda added that the campaign will grant an opportunity for private companies to engage in a social responsibility project, as well as help promote carbon credit trading in Thailand. “Furthermore, the project will help reduce tax barriers imposed by the United States, the European Union and other foreign trade partners, who tend to use trade barrier policies against countries that fail to contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions,” he added. “We expected that Thailand’s export sector will greatly benefit from reduced tax barrier brought on by this project.”

Sopon Thongdee, director-general of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, added that the department recently announced regulations for sharing of carbon credit from planting and maintaining mangrove forests, in a bid to promote carbon credit trading among private companies who are interested in reforestation projects.

Sopon said the department estimated that more than 40,000 rai of mangrove forest will be planted this year under this project. Within 10 years, it is estimated that Thailand’s mangrove forest areas will expand by at least 300,000 rai thanks to the private sector’s effort, which will help the government save the reforestation budget by about 600 million baht per year. 

“We hope that the expanded forest areas will benefit surrounding communities both directly and indirectly, and help contribute to Thailand’s goal of becoming carbon neutral in 2050 and emitting zero greenhouse gas in 2065,” he said. “One of the project requirements is that coastal communities must be able to continue their occupation and lifestyle after the reforestation is complete, while participating private partners must strictly follow related laws in planting the forest and maintaining it for the next 30 years in exchange for carbon credit.”

Kiatchai Maitreewong, director of Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO) said besides working with Finance Ministry to determine tax benefits for participants of the Reforestation for Carbon Credit campaign, TGO is also developing a platform for carbon credit evaluation under international standards. “This platform will help private companies calculate and offset their carbon footprint using standardised tools. It will also come with a carbon credit registry system that will make carbon credit trading more widely accessible for private companies in Thailand,” he added.