Taiwan’s carbon pricing system would be unveiled in September or October at the earliest and would go into effect no later than the end of the year, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said.
Peng made the remarks in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper), which was published yesterday.
This scheme would apply to Taiwan’s top 504 carbon emitters, mainly enterprises in the petroleum, steel and technology sectors, which account for 54 percent of the nation’s total emissions, he said.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
The pricing system would be compatible with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which is to take effect in 2026, Peng added.
Taiwanese small and medium-sized enterprises would not have to pay carbon emissions fees for now, but are urged to start cutting emissions as soon as they can, he said.
The carbon pricing system proposal garnered the most public support and the review committee would hold a meeting for the fourth time next month, Peng said, adding that no more than six meetings are expected before the scheme’s finalization.
Regulations on fee collection, emission reduction targets and guidelines would be promulgated in the same timeframe to allow implementation by the year’s end, he said.
Affected enterprises would have to report their carbon emissions to the government and may furnish plans for reducing emissions, Peng said, citing the ministry’s plans.
Companies with a government-approved emissions reduction plan would be subject to a different rate than those that do not, Peng said.
A trial period might also be necessary to deal with problems from enforcing a complex and unprecedented set of regulations, he said.
Various carbon fee credits would be available to some enterprises with high emissions, as the scheme’s purpose is to incentivize the private sector to reduce emissions, not collect revenues, Peng said.
The carbon pricing scheme is an interim solution until the nation devises a cap and trade system that can more effectively tap into market mechanisms in regulating emissions, he said.
Environment officials would be creating a cap and trade system tailored to Taiwan’s needs after studying the carbon tax schemes used by other East Asian countries, he said, citing Japan and Singapore as possible models.
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