More ambitious carbon emissions goal needed, despite challenges: Minister

Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's goal of reducing carbon emissions by 23-25 percent by 2030 needs to be "raised and be more ambitious," Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said Thursday, while also acknowledging the challenge of achieving the goal as it stands.

Peng said in a radio interview that not only was the government drafting a "clearer, more pragmatic, achievable pathway" to reach the net-zero goal but that he was also aiming for a more ambitious emissions reduction target.

He did not elaborate on the details but mentioned that the government must take the lead and that enterprises, many of which will soon be charged for their emissions, need to implement "new ways of thinking."

In 2022, the government announced a 2050 net-zero pathway. The mid-term 2030 goal was to cut carbon emissions by between 23 and 25 percent compared to the 2005 baseline year.

However, Peng said the 2005 level had only been reduced by 1.8 percent in 2022 and admitted that reaching the 2030 goal would "in reality be hard."

However, the reality needs to be challenged "because only when pressure and the drive to change comes from the top are people motivated to do the work," Peng added.

When asked why the government had turned away from nuclear power, which does not produce carbon emissions, the minister, citing President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) response, said, "Energy is never a true-or-false question but a multiple-choice one."

The president said he is open to new types of energy free of nuclear waste and safety concerns, Peng said, noting that "these new technologies, however, take years."

Furthermore, nuclear plants have to stop operating per the existing law. Restarting them would require complicated measures and take many years, he added.

Therefore, the best way to now reach the target is to follow the COP28 resolution. This means increasing the generation capacity of renewable energy and boosting energy efficiency, the minister stressed.

COP28, or the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, made a joint commitment in 2023 to "triple the world's installed renewable energy generation capacity to at least 11,000 GW by 2030" and "to collectively double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements from around 2% to over 4% every year until 2030."

Other than net zero, Peng also stressed the importance of climate adjustment.

"Decarbonization is to save the earth, but adjustment is to save ourselves," he said.

"The global temperature will increase [at least] 1 degree Celsius by 2050 despite decarbonization efforts," the minister said.

"So, adjustment, or long-term preparation for climate change, needs to be done," he said.

People can no longer expect no floods at all, "rather we should boost our resilience, and be prepared to the extent that we're not afraid of floods," Peng said. "Or work on how to cool our cities, for example by providing outdoor shade."

"The president has said that decarbonization and adjustment to climate change will have to comprise a certain percentage, perhaps a quarter, of the government budget," Peng added.