Increasing air pollution taxes in the cold months or offering subsidies for companies that lower pollutant emission rates are measures being mulled by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).
The agency said that in recent years the average density of PM2.5, an indicator of airborne particles measuring 2.5 micrometers or less, has doubled in autumn and winter compared with spring and summer.
Average PM2.5 in central Taiwan during autumn and winter can be as high as 31 micrograms per cubic meter, while the Kaohsiung-Pingtung County area has autumn and winter levels up to three times the spring and summer readings, the agency said.
The agency said that only 30 percent of air pollution in autumn and winter comes from northern China, while 70 percent is produced locally.
The Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法) calls for taxes on factories and vehicles in proportion to the amount of fuel they burn.
The tax raises about NT$5.2 billion (US$165 million) per year.
The EPA said that because 60 percent of the tax revenue goes to local governments to implement air pollution prevention efforts — commonly as subsidies to factories that cut emissions — increasing the tax could help central and southern areas decrease pollution.
National Chung Hsing University Department of Environmental Engineering professor Tsuang Ben-jei (莊秉潔) said that pollution increases in the cold season because of the northeast monsoon and the Siberian Anticyclone pushing air southward, which concentrates pollutants in central and southern parts of Taiwan.
In summer, thundershowers usually help disperse pollutants, Tsuang said.
Raising the tax would be a good start, but it would only provide an interim solution, Tsuang said.
Tsuang said that as an example, the Taichung City Government could cut pollution by as much as 40 percent if the 2,000 factories in the region began using natural gas or diesel instead of coal.
However, that would be a long-term project and the city government should start making preparations if it means to implement it, Tsuang said.
The EPA said the plans are still in the discussion stage and details have not been worked out on what would be the pollution standard or how much the administration wants to raise the tax.
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower), which runs coal-fired power plants in the region, said that it aims to cut emissions and would pay the adjusted taxes.
Taipower said that provided electricity generation levels satisfy demand, it would consider turning off plants to help cut emission rates.
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