The National Development Council is aiming for Taiwan to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050 with a policy that decouples economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions.
The economy must continue to grow while carbon emissions are reduced.
To allay public concern that reducing carbon emissions means hard times ahead, and the industry’ s worries that economic growth would slow as a result, it is important to reduce the intensity of carbon emissions.
This requires a “fourfold effect” that incorporates energy, industry, lifestyle and society; four approaches that should go some way to halving input while increasing output.
As such, Taiwan cannot return to old production models and lifestyles.
The most important part of this process is to implement a conceptual shift. The concept of the circular economy as a crucial part of industrial transformation would reduce the exploitation of natural resources as well as reduce waste, to create products of the same or better quality.
For example, disposing of the steelmaking waste known as “converter slag” from China Steel’s facilities has caused significant problems. If the waste is ground down, it could be used as road pavement that is far more durable and hard-wearing than a gravel surface, with a stronger adhesion to asphalt.
Traditionally, road surfaces need to be torn up and repaved every four or five years. If converter slag was used instead, this could be extended to about 10 years, thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions from public construction projects.
This recyclable material costs less than nothing to produce, as it can be offset against the several thousand New Taiwan dollars it costs to process every metric tonne of waste product, especially when compared with the NT$700 to NT$800 per tonne that gravel costs.
Unfortunately, this recyclable and high-quality, environmentally friendly material is not looked on favorably by everyone, and some producers actually refuse to use it. The unspoken secret in the industry is that if a towel can be used for many years, the towel factories would all close down.
If transformation is to be successful, legislation is needed to support it. If construction companies use recyclable materials, it would mean reducing the exploitation of resources to produce higher-quality building materials. Only then could it be possible to decouple economic development from carbon emissions.
If the government is to succeed in achieving zero emissions by 2050, it should start with legal requirements for companies to use recyclable resources.
Chen Wen-ching is a director of the Formosa Association of Resource Recycling.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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