Taiwan and the UK have joined hands to launch a report, titled Carbon pricing options for Taiwan, and would further collaborate on climate action, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said, as the nation prepares to collect a levy on carbon emissions.
The report was the result of its cooperation with the British Office Taipei, the EPA said in a news release on Friday.
The two sides commissioned the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science to evaluate carbon pricing systems for Taiwan, it said.
Josh Burke, policy fellow at the institute and one of the report’s authors, had visited Taiwan early this year to share information on the UK’s carbon pricing policy, it added.
The 49-page report was published on the institute’s Web site on Tuesday.
As a small, export-oriented economy that imports fossil fuels for most of its energy demand, Taiwan faces a range of challenges in reaching its target of lowering greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2050, let alone the more ambitious emissions reductions targets needed to align with global ambitions under the Paris Agreement, the report said.
The report recommends that Taiwan start with a simple carbon levy, initially at a low level, but with a clear trajectory to increase the levy to levels required to meet international climate goals under the Paris Agreement.
Companies would be prepared for such a levy, as opposed to an emissions trading system, because they are familiar with environmental protection fees, it added.
The levy should cover large emitters in the manufacturing and electricity sectors, the report said, adding that the electricity sector in 2017 accounted for 59 percent of Taiwan’s carbon emissions.
If designed well, carbon pricing alongside complementary policies would help Taiwan reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, while growing its economy and playing a part in the international effort to combat climate change, it said.
There is considerable room for Taiwan to implement a carbon price starting from NT$300 per tonne of carbon dioxide, the report said, citing a 2018 survey that showed that on average, respondents were willing to accept a 13.2 percent electricity price hike if that were necessary for integrating more renewables into the power mix.
A carbon pricing policy can be improved by enhancing companies’ capacities to participate and ensuring their early engagement to address concerns, the report said.
In preparing draft amendments to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act (溫室氣體減量及管理法), the EPA is mulling collecting a carbon levy of NT$110 per tonne of carbon dioxide, local media reported in October.
The draft amendments would be forwarded to the Executive Yuan next year, the EPA said at that time.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS