Focus group meeting: ‘Establishing the Climate Fund under the Draft Climate Change Act’, 4 November 2025 at Areesamphan Meeting Room, DCCE

On 4 November 2025, the Department of Climate Change and Environment, together with the ThaiCI Fund under the Environmental Fund, ONEP organised a focus group meeting with publicly funded groups in Thailand, including the Environmental Fund, Energy Conservation Fund, and Thai Health Promotion Foundation, to explore the process of setting up and designing a mechanism for a climate change fund under Thailand’s draft Climate Change Act. The meeting aimed to identify approaches to close gaps and avoid overlap of ongoing financial support towards climate-friendly and environmental activities, and to strengthen collaboration among government agencies involved in public fund management.

The project consultants presented a proposal for establishing the ‘Climate Fund’, which has been endorsed by the Revolving Fund Management Policy Committee. The presentation clarified the distinctions between the differences of the Climate Fund’s mandate and that of the existing funds. It also outlined recommendations regarding revenue collection and fund disbursement, as well as the strategic framework of the Climate Fund and its linkages to other domestic funds.

Representatives from publicly funded agencies provided input for the Climate Fund’s design. They recommended that the fund incorporates a limited guarantee mechanism to protect decision-makers and encouraged the fund’s board to pursue initiatives that benefit the fund. For example, this would include fund approval for green project implementation of beneficiaries who have the capacity to successfully deliver the projects, or who have the ability to repay the fund in cases where the projects cannot be implemented as proposed. This approach will prevent inappropriate losses of the fund. Other recommendations included establishing a robust monitoring and evaluation system for fund performance, defining clear penalties, expanding the fund’s mechanisms to encompass all beneficiary groups, and ensuring that the fund’s board comprises diverse and proportionate representatives from the public, private and civil society sectors.

In addition, the meeting featured a discussion of operational experiences from existing funds, including matters related to receiving international financing such as the ThaiCI Fund, loans, and fund operation and management. These inputs will be consolidated to develop a collaborative plan between the Climate Fund and public funds in Thailand. The aim is to enhance cooperation and improve the effectiveness of initiatives addressing climate change and environmental issues in the future.