Taiwan’s carbon exchange is to open today in Kaohsiung, as the nation aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, while addressing local firms’ need for carbon credit trading.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange and the National Development Fund jointly invested in the Taiwan Carbon Solution Exchange with NT$1.5 billion (US$47.33 million) of capital. It established its headquarters at the Kaohsiung Software Park (高雄軟體園區) and its information center in Taipei, after completing its company registration last month.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange has planned for the carbon exchange to include a carbon consultancy, and education and training, as well as to offer carbon credit trading.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Stock Exchange
To alleviate concerns among businesses, the exchange would initially focus mainly on consultation services for issues such as domestic carbon fees and levies, international carbon border taxes and supply chain carbon neutrality. It would also provide education and training services for businesses during this stage.
Carbon credit trading would come later, as such trading must meet regulations and policies stipulated by the Climate Change Response Act (氣候變遷因應法), and the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is still working out carbon pricing and trading rules.
Cross-border carbon trading would require further negotiations and collaboration with international accreditation institutions based on the needs of local businesses, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said.
Due to the net zero emission trend, companies seeking to secure orders are soon bound to include carbon emissions in their contract terms, as firms wanting to obtain orders from major global brands would have to comply with emission regulations.
The carbon exchange aims to help local businesses through carbon credit trading, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said.
For instance, if a company can reduce its carbon emissions, it would have excess carbon credits that can be sold to other companies with higher carbon emissions, while industries or companies with high carbon emissions can purchase carbon credits to offset their carbon footprints and achieve their carbon reduction goals, it said.
The Taipei-based Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce yesterday welcomed the launch of the carbon exchange, saying in a statement that it is an important milestone along the nation’s road to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
The association urged the government to establish the legal system for carbon credit trading as soon as possible, while implementing the trading mechanism in stages.
It said it also expects Taiwan’s carbon exchange to learn from its international peers to develop carbon pricing and trading systems that are sound and in line with international standards, so that domestic firms can plan carbon reduction paths in a timely manner and Taiwan’s industries can maintain their key position in the global supply chain.
PALAU LAUNCHES: The source said that Taiwanese military personnel traveled to Palau, where a US brigade watched their work amid plans for a defense network The military last month participated in live-fire launches of MM-104F Patriot (PAC-3) missiles under US observation in an undisclosed location in Palau, a step forward in a US-led plan to create a joint defense missile system in the first island chain, a source said on condition of anonymity. The PAC-3 is the mainstay surface-to-air missile of the US, NATO and democratic nations in East Asia, the source said, adding that it has never been live-tested within Taiwan’s borders, the source said. The proximity of Taiwan to China and China’s close surveillance of the nation’s borders and nearby sea zones is a significant
IN MOURNING: Tsai visited the site and spoke with family members of those killed, while all the major presidential candidates said they would temporarily halt campaigning A fire and subsequent explosions at a golf ball factory at Pingtung Technology Industrial Park (屏東科技產業園區) killed at least seven people, including four firefighters, and injured 98, while three were still missing, authorities said yesterday. The blaze at Launch Technologies Co’s (明揚國際) plant on Jingjian Road raged for more than 12 hours after it started at about 5pm on Friday, officials said. The Pingtung County Fire Bureau early yesterday used large excavators to search for missing people, while family members waited at the scene. Pingtung County Fire Bureau Director Hsu Mei-hsueh (許美雪) said the bureau received a call about the fire at 5:31pm
DETERRENCE: The president on Thursday is to launch the first indigenous submarine, which is to enter sea trials next month before being delivered to the navy next year Taiwan hopes to deploy at least two new, domestically developed submarines by 2027, and possibly equip later models with missiles to bolster its deterrence against the Chinese navy and protect key supply lines, the head of the program said. Taiwan has made the Indigenous Submarine Program a key part of an ambitious project to modernize its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who initiated the program when she took office in 2016, is expected to launch the first of eight new submarines on Thursday under a plan that has drawn on expertise and technology from
FISHING FUROR: The latest spat was sparked by a floating barrier that was found across the entrance of Scarborough Shoal during a resupply mission to fishers Beijing yesterday warned Manila not to “stir up trouble” after the Philippine Coast Guard said it removed a floating barrier at a disputed reef that was allegedly deployed by China to block Filipino fishers from the area. Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in the South China Sea has long been a source of tension between the nations. China seized the ring of reefs from the Philippines in 2012 and has since deployed patrol boats. The latest spat was sparked by a 300m floating barrier that was found across the entrance of the shoal last week during a routine Philippine government resupply mission