By Peng Chi-ming – Taiwan Minister of Environment:
Mobilizing action globally to accelerate implementation of climate commitments
In 2026, extreme heat continued to sweep across the globe, with historically high temperatures occurring in many regions. Western Europe experienced its hottest June on record. These temperatures intensified drought and wildfires and put pressure on water resources. This disrupted public health, energy supplies, and economic activity. Taiwan has likewise faced climate risks including extreme heat, heavy rainfall, and typhoons. Climate change has become a shared challenge with profound implications for social stability, industrial development, and national resilience.
Against this backdrop, global climate governance is moving beyond the formulation of targets and commitments toward concrete implementation. At this year’s COP31 meeting, participants will emphasize the principles of dialogue, consensus, and action while working to turn commitments into concrete, trackable results. Even though Taiwan is not a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, it continues to work on climate governance in the spirit of the Paris Agreement. Having submitted its 2035 nationally determined contributions in 2025, Taiwan is now translating its emissions-reduction targets into action by many government agencies to reach a green industrial transition, resource circulation, climate adaptation, and a just transition. It is also collaborating with international partners to develop practical solutions.
Aligning with international norms while achieving concrete emissions reductions through transparent governance
Article 4 of the Paris Agreement calls on parties to progressively strengthen mitigation plans and reach nationally determined contributions. The enhanced transparency framework laid out in Article 13 calls for consistent, trackable information to assess progress on climate actions. Aligning with these international norms, Taiwan this year formally approved its third-phase greenhouse gas reduction action programs for six sectors, covering the years 2026-2030. These programs address energy, manufacturing, residential and commercial buildings, transportation, agriculture, and the environment, incorporating 20 flagship mitigation action plans, annual emissions targets, and 63 performance indicators. They further embed national mitigation goals into sectoral policies and allow for annual monitoring and evaluations. Taiwan’s latest national greenhouse gas inventory also shows that net greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 were 6.59 percent below 2005 levels and demonstrated a decline for the third consecutive year. Over the same period, real GDP continued to grow, even as carbon dioxide emission density fell 48.59 percent. This indicates a gradual decoupling of economic growth from carbon emissions.
As concerns transparency, Taiwan follows recommended frameworks set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. It regularly publishes related documents, including nationally determined contributions, biennial transparency reports, and national inventory reports, matching international practice. Through clear mitigation pathways, sectoral action, and transparent information, Taiwan will continue to assess its progress and turn climate commitments into measurable, trackable outcomes.
Pursuing net-zero and zero waste to enhance industrial competitiveness during the green transition
To accelerate the green industrial transition, Taiwan began collecting carbon fees this year, part of its effort to make carbon pricing a key policy instrument for the decarbonization of industry. The collection system is linked to voluntary reduction plans and preferential rates that encourage companies to incorporate emissions reductions into their investment and operational decisions. In the first year of collection, the carbon fee has thus far generated NT$4.97 billion in revenue, which goes to the Greenhouse Gas Management Fund, a dedicated fund for greenhouse gas reduction and climate change adaptation efforts. The fund offers loan credit guarantees and interest subsidies so as to optimize operations. Meanwhile, the Regulations Governing Subsidies for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Technologies and Climate Change Adaptation were promulgated to support reduction technologies and adaptation measures. Through such diverse instruments as subsidies, financing, and risk sharing, Taiwan’s framework will introduce more private capital in support of the net-zero transition.
During the next stage, a cap-and-trade system will be progressively developed. This will be called the Taiwan Emissions Trading System (TW-ETS) and will move toward a diversified carbon pricing framework in which the carbon fee and the ETS operate in parallel. The United Kingdom recently listed Taiwan’s carbon fee as a qualifying carbon pricing scheme under its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. This will permit eligible Taiwanese products to claim carbon-price deductions in accordance with applicable rules, marking an important step in building links between Taiwan’s carbon pricing framework and international systems.
The industrial net-zero transition must extend beyond energy and carbon management to address the way resources are used. This year, Taiwan completed amendments to the Resource Circulation Promotion Act and the Waste Disposal Act, shifting management efforts from end-of-pipe treatment toward governance across the entire product life cycle. The government has identified eight major aspects of the circular economy: food, plastics, textiles, health, construction, electronics, inorganic resources, and circular industries. At present, there are 69 publicly listed companies in the circular economy sector, which generatesf over NT$1 trillion in total annual revenue. This shows that the circular economy is progressively taking shape as a green industry of scale. Taiwan continues to promote digital product passports, source plastic reduction, and reuse. Through legislation, industrial collaboration, and digital innovation, Taiwan aims to accelerate resource circulation and zero waste, and reduce its reliance on virgin resources, and lower its carbon burdens. This will enhance resource security, supply chain resilience, and green competitiveness.
Strengthening climate resilience and integrating adaptation into national planning and everyday life
Article 7 of the Paris Agreement sets out a global goal to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability to climate change. At COP30, participants adopted the Belém Adaptation Indicators to further advance the Global Goal on Adaptation toward measurable and trackable action. Taiwan continues to align with international adaptation efforts by integrating climate risk assessments into national and local governance and bolstering resilience to climate events like extreme heat and torrential rainfall.
In response to a growing heat risk, Taiwan this year used a 40°C extreme-heat scenario to advance cross-ministerial adaptation strategies, strengthening preparedness and coordination for public health, energy, transportation, occupational safety, and support for vulnerable groups. Furthermore, on the instructions of President Lai Ching-te, Taiwan established the national-level Urban Forest Promotion Committee to advance the National Green Canopy Program. This initiative makes urban forestry an element of national resilience infrastructure and integrates LiDAR remote sensing, 3D digital twin technology, and microclimate data to accurately identify heat hotspots and shading gaps, thereby creating a resilient terrestrial green network that balances climate adaptation with public health. Taiwan will draft an urban forests act that will promote professional certification for protecting trees while advancing the high-value circularity of wood. By guiding corporate ESG resources and encouraging community adoption, Taiwan will launch local demonstration zones, bringing to bear private sector expertise and emerging technologies to enhance urban resilience against extreme climate events and natural disasters.
Realizing a just transition and mobilizing society for net-zero
The preamble to the Paris Agreement emphasizes the need to take into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs. In recent years, the UNFCCC has furthered discussions on energy, industry, labor, and the social dimensions of the transition. At COP30, participants advanced mechanisms related to a just transition, strengthening international cooperation, technical assistance, capacity building, and knowledge sharing so that the needs and development opportunities of different groups could be addressed during the net-zero transition.
Taiwan has made leaving no one behind a core principle of its net-zero transition, and established a basis for governance that addresses a just transition via the Climate Change Response Act. To realize a just transition while implementing carbon reduction policies, Taiwan this year is conducting stakeholder consultations across six major sectors—energy, manufacturing, residential and commercial buildings, transportation, agriculture, and environment. By gathering a wide scope of public opinion and having each sector review and respond to this feedback, cross-ministerial collaboration is being improved. Subsequently, Taiwan will synthesize sectoral policies to draft a nationwide just transition action plan, crafting a national-level policy framework for a just transition and ensuring that social participation remains a vital component of net-zero policy planning and execution. This year, Taiwan used the Greenhouse Gas Management Fund to integrate cross-sectoral capacities and support workers, industries, regions, and groups affected by the transition. This will help advance green-collar talent development, the low-carbon transition of small and medium-sized enterprises, vulnerable groups, local participation, and transition governance.
Enhancing global partnerships to jointly craft climate solutions
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement encourages voluntary cooperation to enable higher ambition for climate action while promoting sustainable development on the basis of environmental integrity, transparency, and the avoidance of double counting. As relevant arrangements move into the stage of implementation, international climate cooperation is expanding from policy dialogue to mitigation projects, technology cooperation, capacity building, and investment, which are important pathways for accelerating implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Taiwan is moving forward with climate diplomacy through pragmatic action. Last year, Taiwan signed a memorandum of understanding on Paris Agreement cooperation with its diplomatic ally Paraguay. Today, the two countries are advancing 12 action plans for environmental governance, thereby implementing global climate action and substantive environmental cooperation through sharing technology and engaging in youth dialogue and exchanges on the circular economy.
Türkiye has labeled COP31 as the COP of the Future, emphasizing that commitment is a declaration of intent, while execution represents trust. As global climate governance enters a critical phase focused on practice and outcomes, Taiwan will continue to deepen global partnerships through pragmatic engagement, making concrete contributions, and sharing its experience with the net-zero transition. Taiwan seeks international support for its meaningful participation in the UNFCCC and global climate governance efforts. It firmly believes that achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires the participation of every partner with the capacity and willingness to act. Taiwan is ready to collaborate with other nations to transform climate commitments into action and together build a more resilient, sustainable net-zero future.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of Breaking Belize News.
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