Economy

EPA announces Taiwan’s first carbon offset programs

• Publication Date：09/13/2010
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Kwangyin Liu

Taiwan industries can now exchange voluntarily reduced carbon dioxide emissions for measurable carbon credits, the Environmental Protection Administration said Sept. 10.

The EPA announced an early action crediting plan and a carbon offset program as part of a cap-and-trade scheme, an international system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act, a legal prerequisite for a full-fledged emissions trading program, still awaits legislative approval, the EPA decided to implement these administrative measures to encourage local industries to cut carbon emissions.

Qualified participants for the first stage of the two programs include the semiconductor, optoelectronic and cement sectors.

The petrochemical industry, which has recently been a point of controversy, would have to see its patent and carbon reduction verification issues solved before it is included in the schemes, the EPA added.

In the early action plan, participants will be rewarded with carbon credits in proportion to the carbon emissions they manage to reduce compared to EPA standards.

The offset program requires companies to submit carbon reduction plans in advance, and follow a set of reduction schemes prescribed by the United Nations or the EPA. Firms will receive carbon credits equal to the emissions cuts they achieve.

Under both schemes, companies will be able to use carbon credits to offset future carbon emissions or sell them to other domestic or foreign enterprises, the EPA said. (THN)