Carbon credits and tax on agenda for APEC finance meeting

Carbon credits and other measures to spur sustainable finance and the digital economy will be high on the agenda when Finance Ministers meet at APEC in Thailand later this year, Thai officials said last week.

Thailand has made the bio-circular-green (BCG) economy a key pillar of its national development strategy and so it will push issues related to that during this year as host of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Dozens of meetings are scheduled throughout the year with a summit of leaders from the 21 APEC member economies in November.

Woratai Kosolpisitkul, Fiscal Policy Office Adviser at the Ministry of Finance said that meetings of second-tier officials (Senior Officials Meeting –SOM) from Finance Ministries and Central Banks is scheduled for March 16-17 to set the meeting agenda. The meeting of the Finance Ministers will take place on October 19-21 in the Kingdom.

Sustainable finance and the digital economy will be the focus of the meetings, Woratai said. Sustainable finance consists of the use of fiscal tools to create sustainable development, such as green bonds and a carbon tax. Carbon credits and taxes are designed to fight climate change.

Many development experts and environmentalists have said that greater involvement by the financial sector is essential to achieving sustainable development and turning the tide on climate change.

As host of APEC, Thailand has chosen the theme: Open, Connect and Balance. “OPEN to all opportunities, CONNECT in all dimensions, and BALANCE in all aspects. As we believe that the world needs a paradigm shift and actions to achieve a more balanced and sustainable post-COVID-19 economy,” the government’s APEC website states.

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