In last year’s presidential election, the major blue, green and white political camps each put forward their visions for renewable energy. Across the board, they advocated for the share of renewable energy to reach 30 percent by 2030.
Local governments run by different parties have also been rolling out their own initiatives. In Taichung, where the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) enjoys a governing majority, solar power capacity is to be scaled up fivefold. Meanwhile, Kinmen County Commissioner Chen Fu-hai (陳福海) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has overseen the installation of solar panels on the county’s Jinhu Reservoir (金湖水庫). These steps indicate that, regardless of political affiliation, the winds are blowing decisively in favor of renewable energy development.
However, some KMT and TPP politicians — despite being aware of the global consensus on the necessity of renewable energy — continue to spread misinformation, and seek to undermine solar and wind power policies in public debate.
Their pattern of revoking their previously offered support for renewables after getting elected is not only dishonest, but dragging out Taiwan’s energy transition.
Countries worldwide are accelerating investment in renewable energy to achieve net zero emissions targets. The EU, the US and Japan have their own expansion plans. The private sector is also responding: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has pledged to achieve 100 percent renewable energy use by 2040 as part of the RE100 initiative, and international giants such as Apple and Google have already fully transitioned to green energy. The UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) has called for a tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030.
Of course, renewable energy development is not without challenges. Land use disputes, environmental review processes, and grid stability issues are real and pertinent. However, they should be addressed through rational discussion, transparent governance and science-based decisionmaking rather than political mudslinging or misinformation. Overemphasizing specific cases to make sweeping claims about green energy equaling corruption or about solar panels being damaging to the environment are serious misrepresentations of the truth and can erode public trust.
Renewable energy should be understood not as a partisan issue, but the foundation of Taiwan’s international competitiveness. As global supply chains reorganize and the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism comes into effect, green energy has become a prerequisite to enter international markets.
If Taiwan continues to descend into political infighting and conspiracy theories, it would miss its opportunity for industrial transition.
The government should, as a matter of priority, establish reasonable regulations and market mechanisms to ensure that renewable energy development balances environmental, industrial and local interests. Taiwan needs continued innovation from the private sector to improve efficiency and security, and a long-term vision and support from the public for a green transition. This is more than a decision on energy policy — it is make or break for whether Taiwan can secure its competitiveness in the emerging global green economy.
Lin Ren-bin is an academic member of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union and an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at Chinese Culture University.
Translated by Gilda Knox Streader
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