2025 carbon reduction estimated at 9%, below 10% goal: Minister

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Environment Minister Peng Chi-ming (彭啓明) said Wednesday that Taiwan's greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 are estimated to have been about 9 percent below 2005 levels, narrowly missing the government's 10 percent reduction target.

Peng noted that Taiwan's official goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent, plus or minus 2 percentage points, by 2030 compared with 2005 levels.

However, several uncertainties could affect the final emissions figure for 2025, with one key factor being economic growth, he said.

Peng cited Taiwan's 13.6 percent economic growth in the first quarter of 2026 as evidence of the economy's recent strength, saying robust growth can encourage investment in carbon reduction and increase energy demand.

As a result, the net impact on emissions remains uncertain, he added.

To meet the 2030 target, Taiwan will need to reduce emissions by nearly 20 percent over the next five years, a task Peng described as challenging. Nevertheless, he said Taiwan's emissions are on a steady downward trend despite rising global emissions.

Peng's estimate came as the Ministry of Environment (MOENV) released the national greenhouse gas emissions report that day, disclosing that net emissions in 2024 were 251.404 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, a 6.59 percent reduction from 2005 and a 1.92 percent reduction from 2023.

According to the report, the majority of emissions, a total of 247.219 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, came from the energy sector, which includes emissions from energy use in industry, commerce, transportation and households. That was followed by emissions from industry manufacturing processes and use.

Notably, emissions from the energy sector were down 1.07 percent from 2005, the first time they have been lower than the baseline year since the emissions report was compiled in 2014.

The MOENV noted that the Emissions Gap Report 2025 published by the United Nations Environment Programme showed global emissions in 2024 grew by 2.3 percent, while Taiwan's decreased, indicating that emissions-reduction measures have been taking effect.

In addition, the Global Carbon Budget 2025 showed that Taiwan was one of 35 economies that "succeeded in reducing their emissions while growing their economies," the MOENV said.

However, further analysis found that emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) in 2024 rose 16.01 percent from 2023.

MOENV Climate Change Administration Director-General Tsai Lin-yi (蔡玲儀) said the increase was mainly due to increased production in the semiconductor industry.

However, the gases have an emissions cap, so while their use has increased, they will not exceed the cap, she said.