Taiwan’s carbon fee, announced last year, has not driven companies to set carbon reduction targets or internal carbon pricing, showing that “green” finance policies are not being implemented down the corporate ladder, National Taiwan University’s Risk Society and Policy Research Center found in a survey released today.
The center’s Corporate Sustainability Disclosure Preparedness Survey was conducted from March to April, targeting companies with annual revenue exceeding NT$100 million (US$3.34 million).
A random sample of 906 companies was drawn, focusing on key industries including traditional high-carbon manufacturing, electronic high-carbon manufacturing, construction and transportation, the center said.
Photo: CNA
Since Taiwan implemented a carbon fee in October last year, its lenient pricing compared to international standards has failed to drive companies to set carbon reduction targets or internal carbon pricing, center director Chou Kuei-tian (周桂田) said.
Key climate policies and regulations, such as carbon pricing, green finance and the major electricity usage clause, lack clear targets, Chou said.
In terms of sustainable finance, there has been little growth in climate-related engagement between banks and businesses, he said.
The survey focuses on three major areas: climate disclosure, sustainable finance, and labor and human rights, the center said.
Twenty percent of surveyed companies have disclosed climate policies and the proportion of listed companies with climate-related disclosures has been increasing annually, it said.
However, due to lax domestic carbon pricing policies, “many companies have stalled in setting net-zero targets or reporting greenhouse gas emissions, and some have regressed when it comes to supply chain carbon accounting and emissions reduction planning,” the survey found.
Only 2.3 percent of respondents have implemented internal carbon pricing and the proportion of companies assessing medium to long-term climate risks has dropped by about 10 percent compared to last year, it said.
In terms of sustainable finance, only 10 percent of companies have engaged in climate-related dialogue with financial institutions, and about 60 percent of companies either are unaware of or see no need for climate-related financial products, the survey found.
In terms of labor and human rights, nearly 70 percent of companies reported hiring middle-aged or elderly employees, the center said.
In terms of gender equality, about 60 percent of companies stated there was no significant gender pay gap, while the number of male supervisors was clearly higher than that of female supervisors, it added.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS