A coalition of environmental groups yesterday issued recommendations for moving toward a zero-carbon future, including calls for a timeline to eliminate emissions that includes greater public input and participation.
A roadmap for eliminating carbon emissions was promised last year, but the delay has not contributed to a more complete or refined plan, Taiwan Environment and Planning Association chairman Chao Chia-wei (趙家緯) told a news conference in Taipei.
Public dialogue has been ineffective and agencies are shifting responsibility among themselves, he said, adding that no ministry has yet been willing to take the lead in ensuring transitional justice for workers and disadvantaged groups.
Photo courtesy of the Environmental Rights Foundation
Studies show that renewable energy should account for 90 percent of the nation’s energy needs, but the government is only aiming for 70 percent, Chao said.
Electricity consumption growth must also be limited to 1.3 percent over the next 30 years, but the government plans for 1.5 to 2.5 percent, he added.
Environmental Rights Foundation researcher Nee Mau-ting (倪茂庭) called for a proposed climate bill to be given legislative priority.
He also strongly recommended a carbon tax of at least NT$300 per tonne of emissions to give industry an incentive to decarbonize.
Transportation is Taiwan’s fourth-largest polluter, accounting for about 14 percent of all carbon emissions in the nation, Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan researcher Yang Shu-jung (楊書容) said.
The two main strategies for reducing emissions are developing green transport and electrifying existing methods, but the government has yet to publish green transportation goals, concentrating only on electrification, Yang said, adding that even this goal is far less ambitious than the international standard.
Wei Yang (魏揚), a researcher with the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance, called for a more comprehensive strategy that includes public involvement, rather than relying only on industrial cooperation.
Apart from including the public in its plans, foundation researcher Lin Yan-ting (林彥廷) urged the government to create a timetable in line with international targets and to pass the languishing climate bill by May.
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