No businesses have yet applied to plant forests to obtain carbon offset credits, although trading the credits on an existing platform for carbon reduction efforts would require further evaluation, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.
The comments came in response to media reports that the Water Resources Agency had selected areas in Nantou County’s Dongpu (東埔) and Taoyuan’s Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) for reforestation or afforestation to serve as carbon sinks.
Carbon sinks, either natural or artificial, capture and store carbon for an unspecified period. It is a highly efficient carbon offset method that is considered a critical part of achieving net-zero emissions, along with reducing emissions.
Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei Times
However, the reports claimed that the credits to be awarded for planting forests are impossible to calculate, as the EPA has not proposed a system for calculating carbon credits — or permits to emit certain amounts — for creating carbon sinks.
The EPA denied the claim, saying that the Council of Agriculture has since 2000 implemented detailed incentives for afforestation.
In the National Development Council’s proposal for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, it estimates that 21.4 million tonnes of carbon were sequestered in the nation’s forests in 2019, Department of Environmental Sanitation and Toxic Substance Management Director-General Tsai Ling-yi (蔡玲儀) told reporters.
By 2050, it hopes to reach 22.5 million tonnes, Tsai added.
On the other hand, carbon credits for reducing emissions can be obtained through the EPA’s National Greenhouse Gas Registry, Tsai said.
She raised as examples proposals submitted by Taipei 101 to switch to energy-efficient lightbulbs and by a Changhua County farm to use biogas for power.
However, no business has yet applied to offset emissions by creating a forest carbon sink, she said.
In principle, 1 hectare of forest can capture about 10 tonnes of carbon per year, which pales in comparison to the 100 tonnes saved per year by Taipei 101 replacing the lights in its parking garage, Tsai said.
However, the benefit of carbon sinks cannot be calculated in the same one-to-one manner, as it has further ecological and environmental benefits, she added.
Including forest carbon sinks in the carbon trading program would therefore require further research to take these additional benefits into account, she said.
Considering Taiwan’s small size, it is also necessary to assess the available area for planting in a more comprehensive manner, she added.
Meanwhile, the Ocean Affairs Council is evaluating the possibility of incentivizing oceanic carbon sinks, Tsai said.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
RSS