Climate change is a global challenge facing humanity. With the legislation of the “Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act” (hereinafter abbreviated as the GHG Management Act) in 2015, Taiwan became one of the few countries in the world that have set long-term reduction goals into law. However, since global climate change has become more severe, in order to expedite Taiwan’s national carbon reduction action as well as to strengthen the nation’s climate change adaptation, the Environmental Protection Administration has proposed a draft revision to the GHG Management Act with an amendment of its name to “Climate Change Response Act.” During the 60-day period of this notice, public comments and opinions from all sectors are welcome.
According to the Environmental Protection Administration, since climate change tasks are wide-ranging, the revision of the GHG Management Act has been fully communicated with all stakeholders before the announcement of the draft version, which sets four directions for amendments: reinforce administrative control, complement economic incentives, establish sectoral competencies, and incorporate adaptation measures. Seventeen meetings were held with stakeholders, ranging from the steel and iron, semi-conductor, cement, paper, glass, oil refinery, man-made fiber, petrochemical and basic chemistry, and power generation industries, as well as private groups and government agencies. Opinions from all sectors were consolidated after the meetings. At the same time, to enhance greenhouse gas mitigation measures and the climate change adaptation response mechanism, the name of the act is to be amended to “Climate Change Response Act.” Major revisions in the amendment are as follows:
Inclusion of the goal of net zero emission by 2050
The current GHG Management Act sets the nation’s long-term GHG reduction goal to lower GHG emissions to below 50% of the level of 2005 by 2050. The goal in this amendment is revised to reach net zero emission by 2050 as a declaration of the nation’s determination for reduction. To achieve such a goal, all levels of the government and people, businesses, groups will work together to promote GHG reduction, develop negative emission technologies and promote international cooperation.
Enhancing the level of climate governance
GHG emissions reduction and climate change adaptation involve the competent authorities of different sectors. The amendment explicitly names the National Council for Sustainable Development of the Executive Yuan to coordinate, assign and integrate the fundamental principles on the nation’s response to climate change, as well as to make relevant decisions on cross-agency affairs. In addition, the central competent authorities shall be responsible for the integration of action plans of various sectors to set a national reduction plan; and the local governments shall establish their climate response promotion committee to integrate and coordinate climate change response tasks.
Introduction of a climate change adaptation chapter
The adaptation chapter carries out three key tasks: basic capacity building, scientific research estimation and connection, confirmation of the promotional framework. In the first task, to enhance comprehensive national fundamental capacity in response to climate change, the government shall promote adaptation capacity building, which will integrate the responsibilities of people, businesses, groups to participate. In the second task, to strengthen scientific research connection, the central science and technology competent authorities shall integrate relevant climate change science, scenarios and risk information, with publication of climate change science reports in periodicals. Each level of government shall conduct climate change risk assessments to provide a basis for the promotion of adaptation. In the third task, to confirm the promotional framework, the central industry competent authorities shall establish the “Adaptation Action Plan in the Field of Authority.” The central competent authorities shall integrate to establish “National Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan,” the local governments shall establish their respective “Climate Change Adaptation Implementation Plan” to facilitate localized adaptation strategies, through annual edition of achievement reports, to fulfill information transparency and public participation protocol.
Reinforcing emission control and incentive mechanism to facilitate reduction
Raising energy efficiency is key towards net zero emission. The amendment will bring in emission behavior control mechanism for manufacturing, transportation and construction sectors to raise energy efficiency and to lower emission intensity, as well as to mandate newly built emission sources to adopt best available technology and to carry out offsets of increased emission, so as to lower environmental impact from the increase of emission. Moreover, it enhances voluntary reduction plan to be brought out by businesses or each level of government to implement GHG reduction measures for the incentive to receive reduction credits. Therefore, reduction is promoted from two directions at the same time.
Imposition of carbon levy for designated uses
Carbon pricing as an economic incentive to prompt emission reduction is recognized internationally as an important carbon reduction measure. In order to build a robust carbon pricing system, the amendment sets carbon levy for domestic emission sources, and sets aside the levy for designated usage in GHG reduction tasks, development of low carbon and negative emission technologies and industry, provision of subsidies and awards for investments in GHG reduction technologies to promote GHG reduction and low carbon economy development.
In addition, the amendment will facilitate carbon footprint management mechanism and product labeling through the extended producer responsibility and provision of low carbon consumption choice for people, and to prompt manufacturers to produce low carbon products. The amendment also includes carbon capture, recycling and sequestration into regulation to facilitate the development of negative carbon technology. Moreover, the draft version also emphasizes information transparency and public participation, mandating all levels of government to set various GHG reduction and climate change adaptation plans, programs and publicize the implementation results.
For more details, please refer to the EPA’s news section and the public dialogue platform for climate citizens, or visit the EPA’s regulation search system three days after the publication of this notice. Your opinions and suggestions concerning the revision are welcome within 60 days from the publication of this notice. The related links are as follows:
- Environmental Protection Administration, R.O.C.(Taiwan)