Clean air activists in Thailand are intensifying their campaign for stronger accountability measures as Parliament considers a landmark Clean Air Bill designed to tackle the country’s chronic pollution crisis.

At the core of the activists’ demands is the ‘polluters pay’ principle, which they argue is essential to make emitters responsible for the health and environmental harm caused by toxic air pollution. 

The Clean Air Bill, which overwhelmingly passed its third reading in the House of Representatives before moving to the Senate for review, represents the first comprehensive legal framework in Thailand aimed at reducing particulate matter and other harmful emissions from multiple sources, including industry, transportation and biomass burning.

Advocates have praised the measure as a long-awaited step toward cleaner air but warn that weakening key provisions could undermine its effectiveness. 

Campaigners have specifically urged lawmakers to retain provisions that impose financial responsibility on major polluters and establish a dedicated Clean Air Fund to support mitigation and public health measures.

They say that without such mechanisms, companies responsible for large emissions could avoid meaningful consequences while ordinary citizens, particularly children and vulnerable populations, continue to suffer from respiratory and other pollution-related illnesses. 

Critics of amendments that would dilute the bill’s accountability tools argue that removing or weakening the ‘polluters pay’ clause would render the legislation ineffective, turning it into a nominal piece of regulation rather than a tool to compel real reductions in emissions.

Supporters of the original framework contend that transparent reporting requirements and targeted penalty structures are necessary to shift corporate behaviour and foster cleaner industrial practices. 

Youth groups and environmental networks have also mobilised public support, calling on the Senate and incoming government to prioritise swift passage of the bill and safeguard its strongest elements against political delay.

They emphasise that the cost of inaction — in terms of public health expenditures and lost economic productivity — far outweighs the costs of implementing stricter emission controls. 

As Thailand continues to grapple with high concentrations of PM2.5 and other pollutants that regularly exceed safe thresholds, activists maintain that the proposed legislative reforms are crucial to protect public health, strengthen environmental governance and ensure that those most responsible for pollution contribute fairly to its mitigation.