Renewable energy bill `very likely' to pass, insiders say

A bill on the development of renewable energy will "very likely" be passed in the current legislative session, lawmakers serving on the Economics and Energy Committee said yesterday.

However, the passage of bills on an energy tax and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was unlikely to proceed as smoothly, with controversies surrounding these bills still lingering, they said.

The legislators and the government agency in charge of drafting a final version of the energy tax bill have not yet done so, while further discussions are required before the legislative Sanitation, Environment and Social Welfare Committee will be able to complete the second review of the greenhouse gas reduction bill.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang To-far (王塗發) said yesterday that a public hearing would be convened on the greenhouse gas bill after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators insisted that more deliberations were necessary.

Wang that the Environmental Protection Administration had in principle accepted his suggestion of setting up a timeline in which the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a certain percentage must be reached by a certain date.

Wang on the progress of the three bills related to environmental protection at a press conference yesterday where lawmakers who visited the UK at the end of last month briefed the media on their thoughts and observations on how the British government was addressing the issue.

They described their visit, initiated by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as significant, as it was the first official visit to the UK since the two nations severed diplomatic relations 35 years ago.

DPP Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) and Chen Min-jen (陳明真), KMT Legislator Lwo Shih-hsiung (羅世雄), deputy director of the British Trade and Cultural Office Charles Garrett and Bureau of Energy Director-General Yeh Huey-ching (葉惠青) also addressed the press conference.

Lee that the UK had achieved great success in curbing carbon dioxide emissions and that the Taiwanese government could learn a great deal from the British example.

Wang he hoped that the Environmental Protection Administration could establish a carbon trade policy in Taiwan within three years.

Lwo that the renewable energy development bill had to be passed as a matter of urgency.

"We need to consider the impact on the industries that rely on low gas prices and low carbon prices, which will be removed from the market. Meanwhile, we also need growth in the renewable energy industry so that it may replace the high-pollution industries," he said.