The legislature recently failed to pass a bill on greenhouse gas reductions at its third reading. This raises the question of whether the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) will be able to have the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法) amended to list greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane as pollutants harmful to humans — and thus introduce binding controls.
In April, and by order of the US Supreme Court, the US Environmental Protection Agency started conducting research on whether greenhouse gases have negative effects on human health. The results of this research were announced at the start of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, along with the response: The US Clean Air Act will be amended.
This development shows that US government departments fully support US President Barack Obama’s determination to prove to the international community that the US will curb greenhouse gas emissions in the hope that this will bring about substantial developments in climate talks.
In June, the US House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) proposed by the Republican Party. But the legislation did not win the necessary 60 percent approval in the Senate.
If the Clean Air Act is amended, the effect on policy will not be as strong as the ACES bill. As it is backed by scientific research, however, there is a strong possibility that it will be passed by both houses of Congress. In addition, the Clean Air Act, which allows direct controls on the emission of specific air pollutants, would have a different effect from the ACES, which controls total emissions.
For example, automobile emission standards in the US are even lower than China’s. By amending the Clean Air Act, higher fuel consumption levels could apply to car engines, which would force manufacturers to develop low carbon-emission vehicles. In addition, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from every factory chimney would be monitored and controlled. The pressure that this would exert on businesses could do more to lower emissions than placing limits on total factory emissions.
If we can control the carbon dioxide that is directly and indirectly created during and after the construction of buildings, then new, low-carbon building materials, low-energy housing designs and low-energy home electronics could become standard products.
Of course, if the US Clean Air Act were to be amended, other countries would follow suit — sooner or later. Even if Taiwan’s government failed to take action, private businesses would start modifying manufacturing processes and raw materials in their products to avail themselves of new opportunities and to avoid being cut out of the US market.
But there is reason for concern. Taiwan is supposed to have some of the world’s toughest emission standards, but the number of scooters on this small island continues to rise. As long as people continue riding scooters to and from work, we will not be able to cut emission levels.
Similarly, the ACES must pass in the US if Washington is to have any hope of meeting its own reduction targets by 2020. Thus, in addition to publicizing Obama’s resolve to cut emissions on the international stage, the US has announced that it will amend the Clean Air Act to place pressure on the Senate.
If a new climate protocol is drawn up in Copenhagen and if both the US and China are listed as countries required to cut emissions, the impact on Taiwan and the rest of the world will be far greater than that of the Kyoto Protocol — but the US Senate will still have to pass the ACES.
Liu Chung-ming is director of the Global Change Research Center at National Taiwan University.
TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
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