Environment groups call for speedy establishment of carbon fee system

Taipei, April 22 (CNA) Environmental advocacy groups on Monday offered four proposals for Taiwan's carbon pricing strategy, including establishing a carbon fee collection scheme to cut greenhouse gas emissions before the new government takes office on May 20.

To mark April 22 Earth Day, the environmental groups, including the Green Citizens' Action Alliance, Environmental Rights Foundation, and Homemakers United Foundation, issued a joint statement calling for the government to speed up the establishment of a carbon fee collection system in order to demonstrate its determination to reduce carbon emissions.

The statement calls for the establishment of a carbon fee rate before May 20 to avoid variables that might be brought about by the new administration.

The groups believe that if the carbon fee rate is set too late, some sources of greenhouse gas emissions may lose focus, come up with excuses for missing the opportunity to formulate carbon reduction policies for the next year, or claim to be unable to retroactively pay the fees on time in 2025 for emissions in 2024, according to the statement.

The groups also proposed that the starting price of the carbon fee be set at NT$500 (US$15.32) per metric ton in line with international standards.

The environmental groups took carbon prices in other countries in Asia as an example, saying that South Korea's carbon trading price in 2022 was around NT$540 per metric ton, while that in Singapore increased to NT$570 per metric ton this year.

The groups also recommended that the minutes of Carbon Fee Rate Review Committee meetings be made public to ensure the basis and process of government decision-making is better understood and supervision conducted more effectively. Currently, the committee has held two meetings, according to the statement.

The statement also called for the formulation of carbon pricing related sub-laws to facilitate the establishment of a complete carbon fee collection system.

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