ThanksLetter #4. Change Sprouting in Paddies: On the Frontlines of Methane Reduction
Southeast Asian Expansion: New Milestones in Cambodia, Bangladesh, and finally Vietnam
2025-10-01
Welcome to our May ThanksLetter!
As we enter the warmer months, our climate initiatives are heating up across Southeast Asia. This edition highlights our expanding work in methane reduction – a critical area where immediate action is urgently needed. As our projects demonstrate, this isn’t just an environmental necessity but a practical opportunity with multiple benefits for farming communities.
Methane Reduction Emerges as an ‘Immediate Action Card’ for Climate Crisis and Energy Security
According to a recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry have not yet reached their peak. The ‘Global Methane Tracker 2025’ released in April 2025 revealed that the fossil fuel industry emits approximately 120 million tons of methane annually, accounting for about one-third of global methane emissions caused by human activity.
This is not only a major cause of climate change but also represents a serious loss leading to reduced energy efficiency and resource waste. The IEA emphasized that methane reduction is an “immediately actionable strategy” that can simultaneously achieve climate change mitigation and strengthen energy security. It is receiving attention as a top priority issue that the world should address, particularly due to its relatively low reduction costs and high technical feasibility.
In response, Thanks Carbon has joined forces with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) to participate in the ASEAN-Korea methane reduction project, tackling this important challenge.
🔗 Discover more details
IEA Global Methane Tracker 2025
“Methane Reduction in Fields, Not Just in Theory”
GGGI Cambodia Methane Reduction Coordination Committee (MRCC) Meeting
On May 6th, Thanks Carbon attended the Methane Reduction Coordination Committee (MRCC) meeting in Phnom Penh, jointly hosted by GGGI Cambodia, Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
While many people talk about carbon, methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas. Thanks Carbon is working to handle both. This important event brought together various partners including the Korean government (Korean Embassy in Cambodia, ASEAN delegation) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), all of whom provided sharp insights on methane reduction strategies and implementation.
The meeting discussed policies, technologies, and implementation strategies for methane reduction in Cambodia and the ASEAN region. The $20 million ‘ASEAN-Korea Methane Reduction Cooperation Project (AKCMM)’ was officially launched at this event, representing a regional effort to address methane emissions, a major cause of global warming.
During the meeting, Thanks Carbon presented the results of its AWD (Alternate Wetting and Drying) pilot project in the Battambang region. We emphasized that this water management technology not only reduces methane emissions but also provides farmers with various benefits, including stronger root formation, reduced pests and diseases, and potential yield increases.
Cambodia’s Environment Minister Eang Sophalleth stated, “As a signatory to the Global Methane Pledge, Cambodia has a strong commitment to reducing methane emissions. The launch of the AKCMM project is a strategic implementation step that connects national efforts with regional and global commitments.”
The AKCMM project will run for three years in nine ASEAN member countries, including Cambodia, with technical support from GGGI. This project aims to reduce methane emissions through policy development, improved emissions measurement, financial planning, and regional partnership building.
Following the GGGI event, Thanks Carbon signed a MoU with CPDD (Coalition for Partnership in Democratic Development), a Cambodian NGO alliance, for collaboration on AWD-based voluntary carbon market projects. This partnership will establish a cooperative framework between government agencies, civil society organizations, and farming communities through an NGO-led community-centered model.
This event is significant not as a single project, but as the starting point of a regional change toward a low-carbon, climate-ready future. Thanks Carbon is deeply grateful to contribute to this movement and is further encouraged by the potential for future developments.
👨🌾 Gaining Insights from Kampong Thom Farmer Interviews
On May 7th, our team conducted informative interviews with farmers from the Kampong Thom region. This discussion, which included representatives from the Agricultural Cooperative (AC) and Farmer Water User Community (FWUC), provided important insights for project implementation.
A key finding from the interviews was that many farmers are unfamiliar with the term “AWD” itself. We also discussed agricultural practices including fertilizer use, seeding methods, pesticide application, land leveling techniques, and rice production and distribution channels. This information will be very helpful in designing customized training programs and implementation strategies that align with farmers’ existing knowledge and practices.
Bangladesh AWD Pilot Project Shows Promising Results
We are pleased to share the status of our ongoing pilot project in the Mymensingh region of Bangladesh, in collaboration with the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation(BADC) and Bangladesh Rice Research Institute(BRRI). We’re proud to partner with these leading institutions.
In this PoC, BADC has been responsible for securing the pilot site, mobilizing local farmers, and supporting implementation, while BRRI has led the establishment of AWD technical standards, conducted research on AWD practices, and is preparing the official report on the pilot activities.
This project, which began in February 2025 and will continue until June, is already showing impressive results. We are confirming that rice root systems using AWD technology have become stronger, which is an important indicator of plant health and potential yield improvement.
Thanks Carbon’s Bangladesh pilot project continues to hold great potential.
📌 Bangladesh Pilot Project Details
- Implementation of AWD pilot project
- Training of farmers and data collectors
- Water management implementation and data collection
- Comparative research with conventional methods
The Bangladesh project serves as an important milestone for expansion across Asia and is contributing to the introduction of climate-smart agricultural solutions in the most effective regions.
Vietnam Breakthrough : Historic PPP Agreement with Kien Giang Province
Pioneering Public-Private Partnership in Vietnam’s Rice Bowl Province
We’re thrilled to announce a landmark Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with Kien Giang Province in Vietnam, signed last week. This historic contract—the first of its kind in Kien Giang—represents a significant breakthrough in our mission to implement climate-smart agriculture at scale.
Thanks Carbon has been laying the groundwork for this achievement since entering Vietnam in 2023, conducting pilot projects across multiple regions to prepare for large-scale implementation. For Kien Giang specifically, we completed a pilot project earlier this year with feasibility study support from Korea’s Ministry of Environment and Environmental Corporation, while nurturing strong collaborative relationships throughout the process. With this PPP agreement now secured, Thanks Carbon will break ground on our large-scale project this fall.
When combined with the work in An Giang Province, this partnership will impact rice cultivation across an impressive 800,000 hectares of farmland. To put this in perspective, Kien Giang alone represents one of Vietnam’s largest rice-growing regions, surpassing the entire rice cultivation area of South Korea (700,000 hectares).
The Mekong Delta, where Kien Giang is located, is globally recognized as one of the world’s most important breadbaskets. Kien Giang leads Vietnam in both rice production and exports, making this partnership’s potential environmental impact particularly significant.
As we expand our business across Southeast Asia and beyond, Thanks Carbon will continue to fulfill our mission of reducing methane emissions with practical and farmer-friendly solutions that create diverse benefits for communities and the climate.
That’s all for this month’s edition of ThanksLetter!
We’re excited to share more updates with you in the coming months as we continue to grow and collaborate on climate solutions. In the meantime, feel free to connect with us through our website or social channels. See you in June!
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Interested in partnering with Thanks Carbon to drive climate solutions? Reach out to us here → to explore collaboration opportunities.
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