Use of chemical fertilizers nationwide has reduced by nearly 26 percent from 2011 in line with carbon reduction targets, Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) told the Agriculture Net Zero forum in Taipei yesterday.
Agriculture is on the front lines against threats from climate change, particularly as most plants and animals cannot adapt to temperature changes by wearing clothes and retreating to air-conditioned buildings like human beings, Chen told the forum, which the Ministry of Agriculture organized to present net zero innovations from domestic agriculture.
The ministry in 2022 announced its goal of achieving net zero emissions across the agricultural sector by 2040, Chen said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The goal was set along with 19 strategies and 59 measures centered around four key pillars about a year earlier than the implementation of national net zero regulations, he said.
The forum was to explore how to meet the ministry’s 2040 net zero targets, he said.
Taiwan’s carbon emissions from the agricultural sector are about 6.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, Chen said.
Although some people question why emissions have not been reduced significantly, the figures could have risen to 7 million tonnes without the carbon-reduction efforts of the past few years, he said.
The proportion of combustion to non-combustion emissions from the agricultural sector in the past few years has been almost evenly split at 52 percent and 48 percent respectively, Chen said.
Agricultural combustion emissions integrated into the energy sector in the latest National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, while agricultural non-combustion emissions are about 3.13 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, he said.
Innovative strategies in research and development to boost carbon sinks, build circular agriculture and promote green trends is required to reduce non-combustion emissions, Chen said.
For example, methane from rice cultivation, livestock manure and enteric fermentation, as well as nitrous oxide from fertilizers, must be reduced by improving production techniques and management, he said.
The use of fertilizers has been reduced by 7 percent, or about 50,000 tonnes, over the past few years, Chen said, adding that the domestic agricultural sector has achieved a 26 percent reduction in fertilizer use compared with 2011.
Regarding circular agriculture, Chen said the ministry aims to convert all agricultural waste into agricultural residual resources for repurposing.
What used to be considered “agricultural waste” has the potential to be repurposed into livestock feed, fertilizers, usable materials or energy, he said.
Experts and academics at the forum exchanged opinions on how to advance net zero efforts via carbon reduction, carbon sinks and circular agriculture.
National Chung Hsing University vice president Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), a former minister of agriculture, said that Taiwan has a total power demand of about 300 billion kilowatt-hours.
The power demand is projected to rise by 100 billion kilowatt-hours with the continued expansion of the semiconductor industry, he said.
Net zero efforts could be affected if the nation fails to implement enough green power generation and is forced to use coal to meet electricity demand, he said.
Circular resources should be categorized based on material types rather than administrative divisions, Chen Chi-chung said, adding that interagency cooperation would be required for that to be achieved.
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