Lawmakers accept unanimously all 7 drafts of Clean Air Bill
Parliament on Wednesday voted to accept in principle all seven drafts of the Clean Air Bill that were presented by the government, the opposition, and civil society.
All versions of the Clean Air Bill were almost unanimously approved by the House, with 438 lawmakers in agreement out of 439. One MP was not present at the time of the vote.
A 39-member parliamentary committee will now be set up to make amendments to the bill before it is presented to Parliament for the second and third readings.
The Cabinet's draft aims to formalise and consolidate government efforts to combat pollution through a unified national clean air policy. The coalition's draft includes the creation of the Clean Air Policy Committee, chaired by the prime minister, which will implement tools to incentivise clean air investment through tax policy and other financial measures.
All versions of the bill call for greater international cooperation on transboundary haze. Additionally, the Move Forward Party's version of the bill proposes a ban on corn products made from agricultural burning, while the Cabinet's draft empowers the Commerce Ministry to ban imports and exports from polluted supply chains.
The opposition's version of the bill focuses on decentralisation, granting more power to local officials to address fires and ensuring “equitable and comprehensive” healthcare treatment for cases resulting from pollution. The draft also requires businesses to self-regulate and submit emissions reports on their supply chain.
Meanwhile, the citizens' draft was submitted by the Clean Air Network, a civil society group dedicated to combating pollution.
"The current legislation is inadequate," said Kanongnij Sribuaiam, a civil representative from the group. "It lacks coordination between agencies, as well as economic incentives and punishments for businesses. That's why we decided to draft a bill," Kanongnij added.
