Clean Air Bill offers hope

Parliament is reportedly set to deliberate the Clean Air Bill today. The scrutiny will be the third and final reading — jointly conducted by MPs and senators in both houses. If passed immediately, the long-awaited clean air legislation will take effect this year.

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The conundrum is not whether the country will ever get the legislation, but whether the crucial economic instrument known as the Clean Air Fund will be included or removed. The Clean Air Bill is a combination of seven draft versions — five submitted by political parties, one by the government, and the other, dubbed the citizens’ version, prepared by the Thailand Clean Air Network (ThaiCAN), a civic group.

The establishment of the Clean Air Fund has been included and advocated by some political parties, and aversion was submitted by ThaiCAN. Lest we forget, the campaign to pass the Clean Air Act was initiated by ThaiCAN in 2021 when the PM2.5 pollution crisis in Chiang Mai and northern provinces hit a critical level. Later, governments and political parties proposed their own versions.