The Executive Yuan will reevaluate Taiwan’s carbon emissions goal by the end of 2022, in line with the Glasgow Climate Pact, the head of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said Thursday.
Under the Glasgow Climate Pact — an agreement reached at the recently concluded 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) — countries should “revisit and strengthen” their targets for 2030 to align with the temperature goal set in the Paris Agreement.
The goal set by the Paris Agreement would limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees, compared to pre-industrial levels.
Speaking at a legislative hearing on Thursday, EPA Minister Chang Tzi-chin (???) said that in keeping with the pact, the Executive Yuan would reevaluate Taiwan’s carbon emission goals for 2030 by the end of 2022.
Taiwan’s official emissions reduction target is stated in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act, passed in 2015, which is to reduce emissions to at least 50 percent of the 2005 emission level by 2050.
The EPA states on its website that it aims to reduce carbon emission levels to 20 percent below that of 2005 by 2030. In 2020, carbon emissions were a 2 percent decrease compared to that of 2005, EPA data shows.
In April, President Tsai Ing-wen (???) said that Taiwan was making “relevant preparations” to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, in line with the goals of the international community.
Chang also mentioned Thursday that a climate action act the EPA is drafting would include rules on carbon pricing, the revenues from which would be reinvested in decreasing emissions.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel