Thailand food waste project reduces emissions and promotes carbon trading

Progress has been made in managing household waste and reducing carbon emissions at a local level in Thailand, with the Ministry of Interior (MOI) celebrating the success of the ‘Food Waste Management for Climate Action and a Commitment to Sustainable Thailand’ project. This project aims to broaden emissions reduction efforts and manage carbon credits in alignment with the United Nations’ (UN) objectives.

Local government organisations have been handling household waste through the Waste Management for Climate Action programme, spearheaded by Suttipong Juljarern, permanent secretary for the interior. Collaborating on this project are Gita Sabharwal, the UN resident coordinator in Thailand, Krit Jitjang, the managing director of Kasikornbank, and the governors of pilot provinces Lamphun, Loei, Amnat Charoen, and Samut Songkhram.

At an event celebrating this accomplishment, Suttipong revealed that since 2019, the MOI has collaborated with local governments in all 76 provinces to address waste management issues and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UN to develop this project. The Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO) certified these efforts into carbon credits, with earnings from private-sector credit trading being reinvested into community development, reported Bangkok Post today.

“The Ministry of Interior has joined a network with Kasikornbank to accept carbon exchanges from four pilot provinces,” said Suttipong. Over the coming month, 22 additional provinces will join the venture, with more private sector participants expected to engage in carbon exchanges in the future.

Gita also gave a speech titled “Cooperation in driving to achieve sustainable Thailand goals,” in which she noted that the project had helped localise the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for over 14 million households. Being the first instance of carbon trading in Thailand, she commended the initiative as a great example for other countries in the region to follow.