The government of Taiwan announced on April 22 that the government will focus on research and development (R&D) in green energy, smart grids, and energy storage facilities, in a move to reduce carbon emissions, as reported by Reuters on the same day. According to the announcement, Taiwan’s industries are export-oriented, therefore the industries need to adjust in order to break into the global green supply chain. The authority expects to rely on technological breakthroughs for long-term carbon reduction. On April 21, Taiwan’s cabinet enacted a draft amendment of climate legislation to include the government’s net-zero carbon emission goal, a carbon emissions quantification mechanism, and a carbon pricing scheme that will impose carbon taxes on emitters from 2024 or 2025.

Taiwan bets on vast investments in clean energy to raise the share of renewable energy in its energy mix to 20% by 2025, as part of the island’s roadmap to reach net-zero carbon emission by 2050. Specifically, Taiwan’s policy-making agency vowed in March 2022 that the total investment in renewable technologies, grid infrastructure, and energy storage would reach TWD900bn (USD32bn) between 2022 and 2030. With significant investment, Taiwan expects renewable energies to account for around 60% of the island’s power supply by 2050, with hydrogen accounting for 10%, and thermal power after the carbon-capturing process contributing 20%. In comparison, coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) respectively made up 45% and 36% of Taiwan’s power supply in 2020.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/taiwan-invest-green-energy-smart-grids-reach-net-zero-emissions-goal-2022-04-22/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-30/taiwan-vows-32-billion-clean-energy-spree-as-it-lags-on-targets

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-30/taiwan-vows-32-billion-clean-energy-spree-as-it-lags-on-targets

https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20220422-1265264