Taiwan pursues 40% carbon reduction by 2035 as COP30 approaches

Taipei, Nov. 7 (CNA) Taiwan aims to cut carbon emissions by as much as 40 percent by 2035, compared with 2005 levels, and will closely follow the United Nations climate conference in Brazil despite being barred from formal participation, Environment Minister Peng Chi-ming (彭啓明) said Friday.

At a news event, Peng announced the nation's renewed NDCs -- nationally determined contributions under the 2015 Paris Agreement -- and launched an operations center to track developments at COP30, which begins Monday in Brazil.

On Thursday, the Cabinet set Taiwan's new emissions reduction targets at 28 ± 2 percent for 2030 and 38 ± 2 percent for 2035, compared with 2005 levels.

Although short of the 52 percent target asked for by environmental groups, Peng said that Taiwan's most ambitious goal of a 40 percent reduction by 2035 would be "as challenging as landing on the moon."

Peng said a key factor in achieving the goal lies in energy transition -- increasing the share of renewable energy in the power portfolio, excluding nuclear power plants which have been phased out since May.

According to government data, Taiwan's renewable energy as a share of total energy rose from 4.8 percent in 2016 to 11.7 percent last year, and the government aims to increase it to 30 percent by 2030 and 36 percent by 2035.

Coal-fired power generation remains Taiwan's main source of thermal power, accounting for 31 percent of the power generation mix last year. The government aims to cut this share to 20 percent by 2030 and 9 percent by 2035.

Despite not being a signatory to the Paris Agreement due to China's political objections, Taiwan has voluntarily committed to global climate efforts since 2015, when countries first submitted their NDCs to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

As in previous years, Taiwan's NDC 3.0 could not be formally submitted, and the nation was unable to participate in the UNFCCC.

Peng expressed regret over Taiwan's limited participation at international conferences, noting that the island, while contributing about 0.5 percent of global emissions, also faces the same extreme climate threats as the rest of the world and is willing to shoulder its share of responsibility for emissions reduction.

Following past practice, Taiwan will send delegations of environmental officials and NGO representatives to side events, which will report back to the ministry's COP30 operations center on the latest climate discussions and observations.

The ministry's Climate Change Administration has also launched a website offering detailed information on Taiwan's achievements on emissions reduction, its role in climate initiatives, and comparisons with international climate actions and collaborative outcomes, according to the office.

(Wang Shu-feng and Shih Hsiu-chuan)

Enditem/AW