Setting a national precedent, the Kaohsiung City Council yesterday passed a carbon budget that is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 3.83 million tonnes over the next two years.
The budget includes 16 quantifiable and 57 supporting carbon reduction measures covering six major sectors.
The budget is the first of its kind, setting a precedent for local governments nationwide.
Photo: CNA
The Kaohsiung City Government thanked the council for its support, saying that through the two-year plan — which sets an upper limit on greenhouse gas emissions — the city is moving toward its net-zero emissions goal.
Kaohsiung announced regulations for the development of a net-zero city in June last year, requiring the city government to set carbon reduction actions plans, including a carbon budget, on a two-year basis, the Kaohsiung Environmental Protection Bureau said.
Accordingly, the bureau conducted an environmental impact assessment for this year and next, which estimated that that city’s greenhouse gas emissions would increase by 2.42 million tonnes over those two years, it said.
The budget incorporates industry-led carbon reduction targets, reducing carbon emissions through energy transition, recycling waste, public sector energy-saving programs and using electric power for transportation equipment.
The budget is based on the city’s 2022 emissions of 52.35 million tonnes, bureau Chief Secretary Chang Jui-hun (張瑞琿) said.
Accounting for projected increases and reductions, the carbon budget for this year and next is set at 50.93 million tonnes, a reduction of about 23 percent from 2005 emissions, Chang said.
To formulate the budget, more than 10 meetings were held with academics, industry experts and civil society groups.
It was also reviewed by the Kaohsiung Sustainable Development and Climate Change Response Committee before being submitted to the city council.
Councilors raised a wide range of suggestions, including oversight methods, carbon credit programs and industry support measures, which would serve as references for the next carbon budget cycle.
Chang emphasized that the budget does not involve actual funds, but rather sets a limit on the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, acting as a policy tool to help the city achieve its carbon reduction goals.
He thanked the city council, industries and civil society groups for their support in establishing a practical and science-based carbon reduction strategy for Kaohsiung.
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