Taiwan’s production of “carbon rights” at 5 million tonnes per year would yield an annual NT$7.13 billion (US$251.41 million) if monetized via a carbon tax or other mechanisms, and augment Taiwanese farmers’ income, the Council of Agriculture’s Zero Emission Taskforce said.
Carbon rights refers to carbon stored by plants and other biomass. It has potential value because such storage serves to mitigate climate change, and its value could be monetized or “traded” via a carbon tax or other mechanisms.
Six years ago, the council began researching and breeding plant cultivars that would be more resilient to severe climate patterns, Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said in an interview on Wednesday with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper).
Photo: Chen Wen-chan, Taipei Times
However, such measures only support more effective climate-change solutions, and climate problems could only be resolved through a reduction of carbon emissions to zero, Chen said.
Such measures are being implemented internationally, he added.
In an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the International Energy Agency has said that fossil fuel sources should not be used past 2028, Chen said.
The EU is scheduled to begin implementing what is called a novel carbon border adjustment mechanism starting next year, and to require EU importers to purchase certificates equivalent to weekly EU carbon prices starting in 2026.
Taiwan should also pursue similar goals and frameworks by using Taiwan’s agricultural resources as carbon sinks, Chen said.
The creation of carbon sinks would allow the council to help farmers obtaining “carbon rights,” he said.
This would occur within the Environmental Protection Administration’s carbon rights exchange program, which follows the UN Clean Development Mechanism and Voluntary Carbon Standard, he added.
The council is pushing for measures to help farmers obtain the equipment necessary to implement “circular agriculture” and cut down on carbon emissions, he said.
“Agriculture in the past played a supporting role in the development of industry, but today it must work with the industrial sector to be more competitive on the international market,” Chen said.
The council plans to establish 10 model facilities to promote circular agriculture, which minimizes environmental harms, he said.
Recycling animal waste to generate biogas would make farms and farming villages self-sufficient in power generation, he said, adding that excess power could be sold to the electricity grid.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
RSS