《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》CLIMATE SUMMIT: EPA says reduction plans require hefty regulations

By Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

Following the passage of a climate deal in Paris on Saturday, the Environmental Protection Administration （EPA） yesterday said measures to reduce carbon emissions would include regulating major industrial carbon producers and reviewing energy options, while environmentalists called for the end of fossil-fuel subsidies and the introduction of more emissions-reduction measures.

請繼續往下閱讀...

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change aims to limit the expected increase in average global temperature to less than 2oC above pre-Industrial Revolution levels.

EPA Minister Wei Kuo-yen （魏國彥） said the priority for Taiwan is to enforce the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act （溫室氣體減量法） and convene inter-ministerial meetings to review the nation’s energy options and produce a five-year plan for carbon-emission reductions.

The act requires firms that emit large amounts of carbon dioxide, such as those in heavy industry or the power sector, to report carbon emissions, with heavy fines to be levied if accurate emissions figures are not provided, Wei said.

Taiwan produced about 250 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2012, according to EPA data, with industry accounting for 49 percent of that figure and the power sector 11 percent.

The EPA launched the Pan-Pacific Adaptation on Climate Change initiative on Monday last week, aiming to help the region deal with the expected effects of climate change, the agency said.

Environmentalists called for specific greenhouse gas reduction measures and energy transition.

“Reducing carbon emissions is not a question of what we can do, but what we want to do, because Taiwan has many renewable-energy options,” Taiwan Renewable Energy Alliance director Kao Ju-ping （高如萍） said.

“Giving them up would be like Saudi Arabia squandering its oil,” he said.

The use of sources of alternative energy in the nation’s electricity production must be maximized, while electricity generated from fossil fuels must be reduced, as fossil fuel currently accounts for 78 percent of the nation’s total electricity production, Kao said.

Green Citizens’ Action Alliance chairperson Lai Wei-chieh （賴偉傑） said that although the goal set by the EPA’s intended nationally determined contribution — which aims to achieve a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 under a business-as-usual model — is commendable, it does not include public participation or a means to achieve the goal.

The Paris agreement clearly outlines a pathway for energy and industry transition, and the government should cease subsidizing fossil fuels to speed up the transition, while any policy that seeks to maintain low electricity prices would not bode well for a “greener” future, Lai said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES