While 2021's burning season was not quite as disastrous as in recent years, a game-changing solution for Thailand's pollution crisis remains up in the air. Given the complexity of the factors fuelling these fires, a more ambitious systemic approach is required. Neither past regulatory initiatives nor the piecemeal projects and plans of provincial governments and well-meaning NGOs have succeeded. Without a coordinated effort between the major private sector players, innovators and civil society to create viable alternatives for farmers, Thailand will continue to see major damage to its public health, tourism, and environment during the burning season.