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.
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