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.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS