USAID Launches Carbon Footprint System with Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization

Submitted by admin on Sun, 2015-08-16 21:52

Bangkok, Thailand, August 3-7, 2015 – Leaders in sustainability and emissions reporting from businesses across Thailand and staff from the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO) gathered in Bangkok last week for a week-long training session that launched TGO’s new carbon footprint reporting platform. Greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement, reporting, and verification experts from the USAID Low Emissions Asian Development (LEAD) team and The Climate Registry—a non-profit organization specializing in the design and operation of voluntary GHG reporting programs—led the training, providing step-by-step instructions on the functions and use of the reporting platform.
 
The new platform will replace an existing reporting system TGO has in place, making emissions reporting easier and more beneficial to the voluntary reporting company than ever before. The online reporting system will allow businesses operating in Thailand to log, track, and report their carbon emissions at the facility-level, and will give verification bodies direct access to the information they need to verify the reports.
 
Across the globe, there are nascent efforts to report emissions on a national level. The adoption of this platform is significant for Thailand, as it will become the first country in the region to adopt such an advanced system that will make the reporting process more uniform and streamlined. “Having a registry is the first step, but other steps will come, with reporting building into a carbon trade system, and businesses being able to better control their own emissions,” said Aurelia Micko, Deputy Office Director of the Regional Environment Office of the USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia, on the closing day of the week-long sessions.
 
USAID LEAD’s initiative with TGO is designed to serve as an example that can be replicated to advance emissions reporting throughout Asia, bringing the region to the forefront of low emissions development strategies (LEDS).