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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as