Policy and institutions · Thailand

Thailand's Council of State reaches penalty provisions in week 26 of its review of the draft Climate Change Act

In an update posted on 7 November 2026, DCCE reported that the Council of State committee had finished chapter 12 on adaptation in week 26 of its review of the draft Climate Change Act.

The committee also took up chapter 13 on a climate taxonomy and opened the penalty provisions, with penalties and the carbon tax chapter set for the following week.

The review started on 5 May 2026; the draft approved by the cabinet in December 2025 has 205 sections in 14 chapters.

7 Nov 2026Policy and institutionsThailandPublished 12 Nov 2026
Bangkok skyline along the Chao Phraya River
Bangkok skyline along the Chao Phraya River. Photo: Piyatad, CC BY-SA 3.0, source. Resized only; no other change.
Report

What happened

The Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE) posts a weekly note on the Council of State review. In week 26, posted on 7 November 2026, Director-General Pirun Saiyasitpanich and DCCE staff briefed the committee as it closed chapter 12, covering adaptation action plans, provincial and local plans and progress tracking. The committee then examined chapter 13, a classification standard for climate-related economic activity, with DCCE presenting its aims and foreign taxonomy practice. It also started on penalties, including offences tied to reporting greenhouse gas emission data.

The notes posted since mid-September trace the market chapters. Week 18 (12 September) closed chapter 8 on emissions trading and opened chapter 9 on a border carbon adjustment. Week 21 (3 October) covered chapter 10, the carbon tax: how liability differs from the border mechanism, the proposal to make the Excise Department and the Customs Department the collecting agencies, and filing, payment and assessment notices. Week 22 (9 October) dealt with officials' assessment powers and opened chapter 11 on carbon credits. Weeks 23 and 24 (16 and 22 October) covered credits for international purposes, links to capital-market law, transfers and sales, and the definition of a carbon credit business, closing chapter 11. Week 25 (31 October) worked through adaptation data and plans.

Context

Background

The cabinet approved the draft Act in principle on 2 December 2025. It provides for an emissions trading system with allowance allocation, a border carbon adjustment, a carbon tax and carbon credits. The cabinet-approved text has not been published; the 2024 public-consultation draft placed the ETS in chapter 8, sections 72-99, with a cap set in line with national targets and free and/or auctioned allowances, and put the carbon tax in chapter 10, sections 118-147, with rates set by ministerial regulation up to a ceiling in the Act.

A carbon price already exists outside the draft Act. Since 29 March 2025, fuel excise has included a carbon component priced at THB 200 per tCO2e, and on 20 February 2026 the Excise Department signed an MOU with 18 companies on a digital oil-data link to support a future carbon tax. No ETS start date, covered sectors or thresholds have been set.

Data

How it compares

Penalties for missing allowances in Asian ETS laws

Source: Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE); Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center (law.go.kr); Laws & Regulations Database of the ROC (Ministry of Justice); Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), reproducing the State Council text. Checked 2026-11-12. The Thai penalty is from the 2024 consultation draft and may change in the cabinet-approved text.

Table of the same figures
JurisdictionLaw and statusPenalty for an allowance shortfall
ThailandDraft Climate Change Act; Council of State review since 5 May 2026Fine up to 3 times the average allowance auction price (2024 draft)
KoreaETS Act enacted 14 May 2012Up to 3 times the average market price of the compliance year, per tonne
TaiwanClimate Change Response Act amended 15 Feb 2023 (future ETS)3 times the carbon market price per tonne, capped at NT$1,500
ChinaNational ETS rules (revised text)CNY 1-5 million fine, then 5-10 times the prior month's average price per missing allowance
Ahead

What is next

No further dates are set in the official texts we checked.

Record

Sources

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