Promulgated in July, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act stipulates that Taiwan would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050 compared with 2005 levels, while replacing the current emission system based on an application-approval process, with a cap-and-trade system that would set a limit on the amount of a pollutant emitted, with the amount to be allocated or sold to operators, which could trade their emission right on the market.
To smooth the transition toward the emission trading system and encourage industries to voluntarily reduce carbon emissions, the EPA proposed an emission trading act to provide incentives to reduce emissions.
The act defines a set of emission intensities for the power industry, the steelmaking industry, the semiconductor industry, the LCD industry and the concrete industry, and companies whose emission intensity falls below the EPA standards could apply for the carbon emission trading right and quota.
Another draft bill identifies a list of energy-intensive sectors to be put under strict monitoring, including the power industry, steelmaking industry, oil refining industry and semiconductor industry.
Companies listed on the EPA’s checklist would have to submit their emission data and undergo annual verification and inspection, the EPA said, adding that oil refiners that discharge more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year are to be automatically included on the watchlist.
The draft act would monitor 272 operators, or 80 percent of the production and energy industry, the EPA said.
Another draft bill concerning the registration and certification of carbon emissions and reduction includes nitrogen trifluoride as a new greenhouse gas to be legally regulated to comply with international standards, in addition to already controlled substances, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride and tetrafluoromethane, the EPA said.
Third-party emission inspection companies must follow requirements set by the International Organization for Standardization and International Electrotechnical Commission, while they must also be a member of the International Accreditation Forum, according to another draft act.
There is one accreditation institution and eight inspection companies in Taiwan, and they would be given time to renew their licenses according to new standards, the EPA said.
The EPA has also proposed a draft act to give incentives to landfill operators to reduce methane emissions.
