Sale of international carbon credits on TCX begins

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) The sale of international carbon credits in Taiwan officially began on Friday, with 27 companies, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Foxconn Technology Co. and Chimei Corp., collectively purchasing the equivalent of just under 90,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

The Taiwan Carbon Solution Exchange (TCX), which officially launched in August, began trading on Dec. 22, and sold a total of 88,520 metric tons of international carbon credits, valued at more than US$80,000 (NT$2.49 million), TCX Chairman Sherman Lin (林修銘) said at an event in New Taipei to mark the start of the sale.

The first sale only included international carbon credits, as regulations governing domestic carbon emission reduction carbon fees are still to be finalized by the Ministry of Environment (MOENV), but are scheduled to be tabled in the first quarter of 2024.

The financial holding companies that bought the credits include Taiwan Financial Holdings Group, China Development Financial Holding Corp., Yuanta Financial Holding Co., Cathay Financial Holdings, and E.Sun Financial Holding Co.

The non-financial companies include retail group Test Rite Group, Chimei, TSMC, Evergreen, textile group Tex-Ray, ASE Technology, Foxconn, Nanpao Resins, United Microelectronics Corp. and Wan Hai Lines.

Representatives of the 27 companies each received a carbon credit purchase certificate.

Lin noted several characteristics of the new platform in his opening remarks.

"First, the credits are traded in U.S. dollars, which helps us attract more sellers," he said.

"Second, trading security is ensured between sellers and buyers through trust accounts," he added.

"Third, a 'sub-account framework' is in place to get hold of the financial and carbon credit flows by clearly registering business administration numbers and transaction types," he said.

TCX CEO Tien Chien-chung (田建中) explained that a "sub-account" is set up to waive the need for an enterprise to sign up with international registries, like Verra or Gold Standard, that issue carbon credits generated from developers' projects.

The first batch of international carbon credits came from developers in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Taiwan and Singapore, and included seven carbon credit projects that range in focus from clean water to wind power, to solar energy.

"In terms of the amount sold on a platform on the first day, this is probably a record. As far as I know, Singapore's Climate Impact X (CIX) sold 17,000 metric tons on their first day," Lin touted.

The international carbon credits will help companies move closer to carbon neutrality, Lin said.

As well as financial companies, "those that have purchased the credits work in industries including telecommunications, iron and steel, petrochemical, shipping and semiconductor," the chairman said.

Tien added that another special characteristic of the TCX is that the smallest unit of trade is one metric ton, which is different from many international exchanges that trade by "lot" -- which equates to 1,000 metric tons and would not be feasible for Taiwan's small and medium enterprises.

Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花), Minister of Environment Shieu Fuh-sheng (薛富盛), National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), and Financial Supervisory Commission Chairperson Huang Tien-mu (黃天牧) also attended the ceremony.

World Climate Foundation Founder and CEO Jens Nelson gave congratulatory remarks via a pre-recorded video.

Chimei Vice President Denis Chen (陳世賢) said on the sidelines of the event that the group had bought about 10,000 metric tons, but did not reveal what price had been paid.

E.Sun Financial Holding also said it had purchased 5,000 tons of international carbon credits.

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