The Cabinet is working on developing more ambitious carbon reduction measures that are both “ideal” and “feasible,” Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said in an interview broadcast yesterday.
Cheng acknowledged the need for the government to do more to reduce carbon emissions, adding that it was part of the conclusions reached during a recent meeting of the Presidential Office’s National Climate Change Committee.
The committee — headed by President William Lai (賴清德) and which includes members from government agencies, businesses, academia and civic groups — convened for the first time on Aug. 8.
Photo: Taipei Times file
Committee members have pointed out that there must be more ambitious measures to reduce carbon emissions and develop alternative energy, Cheng said.
With that in mind, the Cabinet was working with different government agencies to come up with “ideal” and “feasible” carbon reduction measures, she said, without elaborating.
Taiwan emitted 275,573,980 tonnes of fossil carbon dioxide emissions in 2022, the reference Web site Worldometer showed.
Although emissions decreased 4.52 percent over the previous year, it still amounted to 11.7 tonnes per person per year, making Taiwan one of the world’s top polluters per capita.
In East Asia, Taiwan ranked behind Japan, China and South Korea in terms of carbon emissions per capita, Worldometer data showed.
With the country falling short of its carbon reduction goals, government officials have signaled that Taiwan should adopt more carbon reduction measures.
Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) earlier last month said the government was drafting a “clearer, more pragmatic [and] achievable pathway” to reach its net zero goal, and was aiming for a more ambitious emissions reduction target.
Under the targets set by the government, Taiwan should reduce net emissions by 10 percent by next year and by 23 to 25 percent by 2030, compared with the baseline year of 2005.
The Ministry of Environment’s latest report, released in June, said that Taiwan had net emissions of 264.13 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2022, representing a decrease of 1.77 percent from 2005.
The net emissions figure was calculated by taking total emissions of 285.97 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent and deducting the carbon sink of 21.83 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the ministry said.
Cheng also said during the interview that the Cabinet was preparing to set up a platform to disclose information on different energy sources being developed in Taiwan, in line with another conclusion the Presidential Office committee had in the meeting earlier last month.
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