The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled a road map for Taiwan’s push to become “carbon neutral,” with sources of renewable energy to account for at least 60 percent of the nation’s energy mix, which would exclude nuclear power.
NDC Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said there is no need to worry about electricity shortages or a lack of green energy during the transition.
The nation is capable of increasing electricity supply by 2 percent each year, sufficient for companies to expand their operations, Kung said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
He confirmed plans to impose a carbon tax to subsidize the development of green energy sources and purchases of electric vehicles, among other things.
However, the government would give companies time to gain better understanding of the initiative and make adjustments before introducing the carbon tax, Kung said, adding that it would set aside some green energy resources for small and medium-sized enterprises to purchase.
Heavy users of electricity, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), have inked deals to buy green energy to be developed by local suppliers for the next 20 years, the council said.
Photo: Lo Chi, Liberty Times
Technology titan Apple Inc requires companies in its supply chain to support the carbon neutral policy, it said.
The government would earmark NT$900 billion (US$31.49 billion) from this year to 2030 to pursue the policy goal, including NT$210.7 billion to be used to develop renewable and hydrogen energy sources, NT$207.8 billion to build smart grids and storage facilities, NT$128 billion to replace conservation equipment and NT$168.3 billion to promote electric vehicles, the council said.
State-run businesses would contribute NT$440 billion and the undertaking might induce an additional NT$4 trillion of private investment, it said.
“We aim to raise the ratio of electric transportation tools in the hope that electric buses will make up 100 percent of street buses by 2030,” Kung said, adding that he expects all private vehicles for sale in the local market to be electric by 2040.
The government has no intention to ban non-electric vehicles, but would use subsidies to promote electrification, he said.
It would start with government-owned vehicles and extend the practice to taxis and other areas, he said.
The government plans to review its road map every five years, as ever-changing technologies warrant a diversified approach, he said.
The council is to release more details this year on how it intends to cut carbon emissions by 2030, Kung said.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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