Taiwan unveils expanded carbon reduction reporting plan

Taipei, Jan. 9 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Environment (MOENV) unveiled an expanded carbon reduction reporting plan Thursday that includes other types of businesses outside of the country's biggest emitters.

The plan will involve a wider scope of sectors that consume high levels of electricity, oil or other fossil fuels, which will be required to report their greenhouse gas emissions from the previous fiscal year with the government, the MOENV said.

Businesses required to report include information services providers, department stores, shopping centers, hypermarkets, universities as well as railway and metro operators emitting a total of more than 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) a year or that have a single branch that emits more than 5,000 MtCO2e a year, the ministry said.

It also includes hotel operators if any of their single locations emits more than 5,000 MtCO2e a year, as well as all convenience and supermarket chains that have more than 100 directly operated and franchised stores.

Operators of tour buses and freight movers with more than 200 vehicles in operation, and small- and medium-sized manufacturing businesses with a single location that emits 10,000 MtCO2e a year are also included in the plan, the ministry said.

According to the MOENV, those designated companies will have to report their MtCO2 emissions from the previous fiscal year before the end of every April starting in 2026 via the ministry's Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting System.

The ministry said that it will hold regulatory briefings and provide training sessions as well as compile guidelines to assist them in completing their emissions reporting this year.

To combat carbon emissions, Taiwan has decided to pressure big emitters first to cut emissions by beginning to levy carbon fees in 2026 on entities that emit more than 25,000 MtCO2e a year, which covers 281 enterprises (500 factory complexes in total) according to data from 2022.

For the moment, the MOENV said those aforementioned businesses outside of the big emitters will not be required to pay carbon fees and will only be required to report their greenhouse gas emissions, it explained.