By Minister Chang Tzi-chin, Environmental Protection Administration, Republic of China (Taiwan) — September 2021
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the world, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere keep setting record highs. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report published in August 2021 strongly confirmed that human activity has furthered the warming of the atmosphere, oceans and land. Extreme weather events — the Texas winter storm, record-setting temperatures on the North American west coast, heavy rains in Western Europe and China, and Taiwan’s worst drought in more than 50 years followed by abnormally heavy rainfall — demonstrate how climate change has profoundly affected the whole world. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan strives to integrate with global efforts to mitigate climate change. President Tsai Ing-wen declared on Earth Day (22 April 2021) that realizing net-zero emissions by 2050 is Taiwan’s goal.
Taiwan has established long-term reduction targets and is planning a practical path to attain 2050 net-zero emissions, with four working groups focusing on decarbonised energy, industry and energy efficiency, green transportation and vehicle electrification, and carbon-negative technology. The Taiwan Climate Alliance, formed by eight ICT companies, has set the goal of using renewable energy in 100% of their manufacturing processes by 2050. The Taiwan Alliance for Net Zero Emission, formed by traditional manufacturing, technology, finance and service industries, seeks to attain net-zero carbon emissions at office sites by 2030 and at production sites by 2050. Financial mechanisms including green financing and green bonds have been implemented to support private sector climate actions. Although Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, it will always seek to be a model citizen for the international community, continuing to work with all countries to foster a global net-zero emissions future and a more resilient living environment for coming generations.