Bangkok, 10–12 April 2025: ERIA successfully convened the second Working Group Meeting on the Carbon Market in ASEAN and East Asia. Held in a hybrid format at the Anantara Hotel Bangkok, the meeting forms part of an ongoing study examining the progress, challenges, and opportunities of carbon market development across the region.

Opening Remarks and Strategic Objectives

Dr Nuki Agya Utama, Director for Energy Policy at ERIA and Head of the Asia Zero Emission Center (AZEC), delivered the opening remarks, emphasising  the pivotal role of carbon markets as market enablers – one of AZEC’s core pillars. He expressed hope that the study’s findings would complement another ERIA initiative focused on developing a unified Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) framework and guidelines for ASEAN.

Dr Alloysius Joko Purwanto, Energy Economist at ERIA, provided further context during a scene-setting presentation titled ‘ASEAN Carbon Market Ecosystem Roadmap: Focus on Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM)’. This initiative supports the Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) of Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship for 2025. Dr Purwanto outlined the study’s current progress and shared his expectation that its outcomes would contribute to the ongoing VCM guideline project.

Dr Han Phoumin, Senior Energy Economist at ERIA and the project leader of the working group, highlighted  the significance of the initiative and recognised  the contributions of all participating authors. He is supported by co-leaders Professor Phouphet Kyophilavong, Vice President of the National University of Laos, and Professor Youngho Chang of the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).

Expert Participation and Key Outcomes

The meeting brought together 27 scholars, researchers, and carbon market experts from ASEAN, East Asia, and beyond. Each participant presented the progress of their respective chapters to receive feedback from the project leaders, co-leaders, and fellow working group members. The discussions yielded valuable input to guide the finalisation of the forthcoming book.

Concluding the event, Dr Phoumin and the co-leaders outlined the next steps for completing the study and reaffirmed the plan to publish the work both as an ERIA publication and an academic volume.

ERIA remains dedicated to supporting initiatives that promote sustainable development and enable ASEAN to achieve its climate and economic objectives.