Taiwan Today

The fight against climate change requires All Hands On Deck as Taiwan continues its campaign for participation in the UNFCCC.

The world’s largest international climate summit, the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) attended by signatories of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was originally set to take place in Glasgow, U.K., later this year. For more than two decades, the global platform responsible for reaching agreements on reducing greenhouse gas emissions has brought together heads of state, experts and campaigners to formulate and coordinate plans for combating climate change. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event’s 26th edition has been postponed to Nov. 1-12, 2021.

The delay is certain not to deter the international community from adhering to the commitments made in the Paris Agreement, adopted at COP21 in 2015 with the aim of limiting global warming. Taiwan, although not a party to the UNFCCC, is determined to pursue sustainable values through its policymaking and industrial development strategy while working to raise public awareness of and engagement with climate change, according to Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Chang Tzi-chin (張子敬).

Taiwan’s exclusion from the UNFCCC means the country cannot officially participate in any related activities, mechanisms and meetings. Nonetheless, together with local nongovernmental organizations (NGO), the EPA sends a delegation to the COP host city every year comprising public and private sector representatives to organize sideline events during the conference.

Limited Space

While official delegations from the country are blocked, Taiwan can send unofficial observers from local organizations to UNFCCC events. Among these are state-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute in the northern county of Hsinchu, as well as Taipei City-based Delta Electronics Foundation, Environmental Quality Protection Foundation, Foundation of Taiwan Industry Service, Mom Loves Taiwan Association, Taiwan Carbon Capture Storage and Utilization Association, and Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy.

Unofficial representation provides Taiwan with limited opportunities to obtain up-to-date information on COP decision-making and access to officials from participating countries. NGOs are not, however, permitted to speak for Taiwan or have any involvement in official multilateral mechanisms.

Taiwan therefore continues to seek full participation in the UNFCCC on a constructive, pragmatic and professional basis, Chang said. This position has won backing from the country’s diplomatic allies and other like-minded partners, who have demonstrated their support by speaking up for Taiwan at COP meetings and sending letters to the UNFCCC secretariat advocating for Taiwan’s involvement.

Despite its exclusion from the UNFCCC, Taiwan has never faltered in its efforts to tackle environmental threats as a responsible member of the international community, Chang said. “We’ve a vital role to play in combating climate change given our expertise in areas like ecological management, pollution control and disaster prevention,” he added.

Environmental policy has been high on the agenda in recent years for Taiwan, with the country one of the first in the world to write long-term emission reduction targets into law. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act, promulgated in 2015, stipulates national carbon emissions must be half of 2005 levels by 2050. To meet this target, the EPA set five-year phased goals of 2, 10 and 20 percent decreases below 2005 levels by 2020, 2025 and 2030, respectively. Latest statistics from the agency indicate Taiwan is on track to meet the first target, with emissions in 2019 nearly level with those in 2005.

According to Chang, achieving these long-term targets requires farsighted policymaking and a whole-of-government approach. To that end, the EPA is supported by endeavors like the Greenhouse Gas Emission Control Action Programs, which regulate Taiwan’s agriculture, energy, environment, manufacturing, residential-commercial and transportation agencies. The National Climate Change Adaptation Action Programs were also approved by the Cabinet last year to enhance environmental resilience and strengthen disaster response systems in line with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As EPA minister, Chang is also a vice convener of the Energy and Carbon Reduction Office, formed in 2016 under the Executive Yuan, alongside the heads of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and Ministry of Science and Technology. The office coordinates and evaluates carbon reduction efforts among national and local government agencies to ensure they are in line with 2017 amendments to the Electricity Act designed to create a favorable environment for the expansion of green energy provision.

The act bolsters the government’s commitment to energy restructuring, requiring by 2025 that 50 percent of electricity be generated from natural gas, 27 percent from coal and 20 percent from renewable sources. This contrasts with the current mix of 33, 46 and 7 percent, respectively, as well as 11 percent from soon-to-be phased out nuclear energy. Initial results are promising; statistics released by the MOEA’s Bureau of Energy show a 4.5 percent year-on-year decrease in carbon dioxide produced per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated in 2019.

Bottom Up

The central government is leading by example, but local administrations are also doing their parts to demonstrate how Taiwan Can Help tackle climate change via membership in Local Governments for Sustainability, a UNFCCC-accredited organization comprising more than 1,750 regional governments from over 100 countries and territories. At the group’s Sustainable City Forum held in July this year in Taoyuan, delegates from the northern metropolis and the country’s 10 other member cities updated participants on Taiwan’s progress in realizing the SDGs.

Creating an ecologically friendly homeland requires changes at the micro level beyond the purview of national politics, according to Chiang Sheng-ren (江盛任), who heads Hsinchu City Government’s Bureau of Environmental Protection. Taiwan’s local governments therefore have key roles to play if the country is to meet its emissions targets and environmental pledges, he said.

Established in 1988, Chiang’s bureau was moved to its current location in the city’s Nanliao coastal region to oversee emissions from a nearby incinerator opened in 2001. The area is now undergoing green regeneration led by a solar farm constructed on a former landfill site, which produces around 2.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. In addition to expanding renewable power capacity, Hsinchu is promoting an EPA-funded biorecycling facility launched earlier this year to convert kitchen waste into fertilizer.

Local authorities are on the front lines of maintaining low-carbon towns and cities through the enforcement of relevant regulations, Chiang said, while noting that it is up to the central government to set standards and issue guidance. “Sharing responsibility at all levels of society—from the public on up—is the best way to realize the country’s environmental targets and achieve sustainable development.”

Experience with formulating and implementing environmental policy from the grassroots up to the Presidential Office provides Taiwan with considerable knowledge that it is ready, willing and able to share with others. “Having full access to the UNFCCC and similar international organizations would be a win-win for all involved,” Chang said. “It’s time to put aside politics and provide every country with ready access to the resources needed to combat climate change.” 

Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw