At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Cho Jung-tai received a Ministry of Environment report outlining new national climate targets as part of phase three of the government's periodic regulatory goals for greenhouse gas emissions. The premier stated that President Lai Ching-te has announced more ambitious interim reduction targets through the National Climate Change Committee under the Office of the President, aiming to advance Taiwan's commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Compared to 2005 baseline levels, national greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced by 28% (plus or minus 2%) by 2030, 32% (plus or minus 2%) by 2032, and 38% (plus or minus 2%) by 2035. At the same time, the government remains focused on driving green economic growth.
Premier Cho said that the phase three targets will be gradually implemented through Taiwan's Comprehensive Carbon Reduction Action Plan. In addition to individual programs developed by the ministries and agencies involved, the Executive Yuan's Net-Zero Pathway Task Force has also proposed 20 flagship carbon reduction initiatives covering six major areas: energy, manufacturing, residential and commercial buildings, transportation, agriculture and the environment. These measures are expected to bolster emissions reduction efforts. The premier furthermore anticipates that Taiwan will achieve the policy target of lowering the electricity emission factor—a measure of the amount of carbon emitted per unit of electricity generated—to 0.319 kg CO2e per kilowatt-hour by 2030.