Concrete and steel importers are expected to report carbon emissions starting next year ahead of the national carbon fee program’s scheduled launch in 2026, Deputy Minister of Environment Shih Wen-chen (施文真) told lawmakers at the legislature in Taipei yesterday.
The government’s carbon fee program, including a border mechanism, would be partially launched next year, with the priority to be calculation of emissions volumes of industry sectors, Shih said.
That means importers of cement, concrete, steel and some other materials would be required to make emissions reports as the ministry hammers out an agreement with the EU over carbon tariff deductions, she said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The EU has tentatively certified Taiwan for its carbon border adjustment mechanism, but deduction rates and verification arrangements have yet to be established in part due to differences in the regulations governing each sides’ steel industry, she said.
Taiwan would implement a long-delayed carbon fee program on Jan. 1 next year that would assess a rate of up to NT$300 (US$9.35) per tonne of carbon emissions from Taiwan’s biggest carbon emitters, the Ministry of Environment said in a statement.
The rate, recommended by a government review committee earlier this month, would initially apply only to companies that emit more than 25,000 tonnes annually, the ministry said.
In addition to the basic rate, preferential rates of NT$50 per tonne and NT$100 per tonne were recommended for companies that meet emissions reduction targets, it said.
Next year would be a trial year, during which large emitters would report their emissions data for this year without paying carbon fees, it said.
The fees would be collected starting in 2026 based on next year’s emissions, it said.
About 500 emitters are expected to meet the 25,000-tonne threshold for paying carbon fees, it said.
At a meeting in July, the committee reviewed estimates showing that a carbon fee of NT$300 per tonne would lead to a 0.12 percentage point drop in GDP, while a NT$500 fee would cause a 0.2 percentage point fall.
Every 0.1 percentage point drop in GDP is equivalent to about NT$23.5 billion, based on Taiwan’s GDP last year, the ministry said.
The Executive Yuan originally aimed to pass legislation and begin collecting carbon fees last year, but due to delays in the then-Environmental Protection Administration’s (EPA) preparations, the timeline was pushed to this year.
However, following the EPA’s rebranding and upgrade to the Ministry of Environment in August last year, the collection of carbon fees was further delayed.
The delays were criticized by environmental groups, which also said that the carbon fee rate and preferential rates were too low to influence the behavior of major carbon emitters.
Greenpeace Taiwan said that firms might treat them as operating costs or pass the burden onto consumers, rather than investing in emission reductions.
The organization also warned that the global community could interpret what it described as Taiwan’s “passive” carbon rate regulations as a sign of insufficient commitment to reducing emissions.
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