Taiwan's Environment Minister Peng Chi-min outlines country's concrete steps toward climate resilience, green economy, and just transition
Amid the increasingly severe impacts of climate change, Taiwan is translating international commitments into concrete policies – from emissions reduction and a circular economy to protection from extreme heat and support for those affected by the green transition. Although the country remains outside the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, it has the technological capacity, practical experience, and willingness to contribute to shared climate solutions. In the following text, Minister of the Environment Peng Chi-min presents Taiwan’s achievements and the role the country can play in building a more sustainable future.
"From Commitments to Action: Taiwan and the World Co-create Climate Solutions
Mobilizing Global Action to Accelerate Implementation of Climate Commitments
In 2026, extreme heat continued to sweep the world, with many regions reporting record-breaking temperatures. Western Europe experienced its hottest June on record. These temperatures exacerbated droughts and wildfires and increased pressure on water resources. This led to disruptions to public health, energy supplies, and economic activity. Taiwan also 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 formulating goals and commitments to concrete implementation. At this year’s COP31, participants will emphasize the principles of dialogue, consensus, and action, working to translate commitments into concrete and measurable results. Although Taiwan is not a party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, it continues to work on climate governance in the spirit of the Paris Agreement. Having submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) by 2035 in 2025, Taiwan is now translating its emission reduction goals into actions across multiple government institutions to achieve a green industrial transition, circular resource use, climate change adaptation, and a just transition. The country is also collaborating with international partners to develop practical solutions.
Adhering to international norms and achieving concrete emission reductions through transparent governance
Article 4 of the Paris Agreement calls on parties to progressively strengthen their climate change mitigation plans and implement their nationally determined contributions. The enhanced transparency framework set out in Article 13 requires consistent and traceable information to assess progress on climate action. In line with these international norms, this year Taiwan formally approved its action programs for the third stage of greenhouse gas reduction in six sectors, covering the period 2026-2030.
The programs cover energy, manufacturing, residential and commercial buildings, transportation, agriculture and the environment. They include 20 flagship emission reduction plans, annual targets and 63 performance indicators. In addition, the programs integrate national emission reduction targets into sectoral policies and allow for annual monitoring and evaluation.
Taiwan's latest national greenhouse gas inventory also shows that net emissions in 2024 were 6.59% lower than 2005 levels, marking the third consecutive year of decline. Over the same period, real gross domestic product continued to grow, while carbon intensity fell by 48.59%. This indicates a gradual decoupling of economic growth from carbon emissions.
In terms of transparency, Taiwan follows the recommended frameworks of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. It regularly publishes relevant documents, including nationally determined contributions, biennial transparency reports, and national inventory reports, in line with international practice. Through clear emission reduction pathways, sectoral actions, and transparent reporting, Taiwan will continue to assess its progress and translate climate commitments into measurable and trackable results.
Striving for net zero emissions and zero waste to boost industry competitiveness during the green transition
To accelerate the green industrial transition, Taiwan this year began collecting a carbon tax as part of its efforts to make carbon pricing a key policy tool for industrial decarbonization. The tax collection system is linked to voluntary emission reduction plans and preferential rates that encourage companies to incorporate emission reductions into their investment and operational decisions.
In its first year of implementation, the carbon tax has so far generated revenue of NT$4.97 billion. The funds go to the Greenhouse Gas Management Fund - a dedicated fund for emission reduction and climate change adaptation. The fund provides loan guarantees and interest rate subsidies to optimize operations. Meanwhile, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Technology Subsidy Provision Rules have been promulgated, which support emission reduction technologies and adaptation measures. Through various instruments such as subsidies, financing and risk sharing, the Taiwanese framework will attract more private capital to support the transition to net-zero emissions.
In the next stage, an emissions cap and trade system will be gradually developed. It will be called the Taiwan Emissions Trading System (TW-ETS) and will usher in a diversified carbon pricing framework in which the carbon tax and the emissions trading system will operate in parallel.
The United Kingdom has recently included the Taiwanese carbon tax among the recognized carbon pricing schemes under its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. This will allow eligible Taiwanese products to benefit from carbon price deductions under applicable rules and is an important step towards linking Taiwan’s carbon pricing framework to international systems.
The industry’s transition to net-zero emissions must go beyond energy and carbon management to encompass the way resources are used. This year, Taiwan completed amendments to the Law on Promotion of Circular Resource Utilization and the Law on Waste Disposal, shifting management efforts from end-of-life waste management to the management of the entire product life cycle.
The government has identified eight main areas of the circular economy: food, plastics, textiles, healthcare, construction, electronics, inorganic resources, and circular industries. There are currently 69 publicly listed companies in the circular economy sector, generating a combined annual revenue of over NT$1 trillion. This shows that the circular economy is gradually taking shape as a large-scale green industry.
Taiwan continues to promote digital product passports, source-based plastic reduction, and reuse. Through legislation, industrial cooperation, and digital innovation, Taiwan is striving to accelerate the circular use of resources and achieve zero waste, reduce its dependence on primary raw materials, and limit its carbon footprint. This will enhance resource security, the sustainability of supply chains, and green competitiveness.
Strengthening climate resilience and mainstreaming adaptation into national planning and daily life
Article 7 of the Paris Agreement sets a global goal to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability to climate change. At COP30, participants adopted the Belem Adaptation Indicators to guide the Global Adaptation Goal into measurable and trackable actions. Taiwan continues to adhere to international adaptation efforts by integrating climate risk assessment into national and local governance and strengthening its resilience to events such as extreme heat and heavy rainfall.
In response to the increasing risk of heatwaves this year, Taiwan is using a 40°C extreme temperature scenario to develop interagency adaptation strategies. The country is strengthening preparedness and coordination across public health, energy, transportation, workplace safety, and support for vulnerable groups.
In addition, under the direction of President Lai Ching-te, Taiwan has established a national-level Urban Forest Promotion Committee to develop the National Green Vegetation Program. The initiative makes urban greening an element of the national sustainability infrastructure and combines remote sensing using LiDAR, 3D digital twin technology, and microclimate data. The goal is to accurately identify hotspots and areas of insufficient shade, thereby creating a sustainable terrestrial green network that combines climate change adaptation with public health.
Taiwan will draft an urban forest law that will promote professional certification for tree conservation while simultaneously developing high-value circular wood use. By channeling corporate resources into environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards and encouraging local community participation, Taiwan will establish local demonstration areas. They will leverage private sector expertise and emerging technologies to strengthen the resilience of cities to extreme weather events and natural disasters.
Achieving a Just Transition and Mobilizing Society to Achieve Net Zero Emissions
The Preamble to the Paris Agreement emphasizes the need to address the demands of a just transition for the workforce and the creation of decent and quality jobs. In recent years, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has broadened discussions on the energy, industry, labor, and social dimensions of the transition. At COP30, participants made progress on mechanisms related to a just transition, strengthening international cooperation, technical assistance, capacity-building, and knowledge-sharing. The goal is to ensure that the needs and development opportunities of different groups are taken into account during the transition to net zero emissions.
Taiwan has made the principle of “leaving no one behind” a as a guiding principle of its transition to net-zero emissions and through the Climate Change Response Act, it has established a foundation for governance focused on just transition.
To achieve a just transition in implementing low-carbon policies, Taiwan has this year held stakeholder consultations in six major sectors – energy, manufacturing, residential and commercial buildings, transportation, agriculture, and environment. By collecting a wide range of public opinions and then reviewing and reflecting them from each sector, inter-agency cooperation is improved.
Taiwan will then consolidate sectoral policies to draft a national just transition action plan. This will establish a national policy framework to ensure that public participation remains a vital part of planning and implementing net-zero emissions policies.
This year, Taiwan is using the Greenhouse Gas Management Fund to pool the capacity of different sectors and support workers, industries, regions, and groups affected by the transition. This will support the development of specialists in the green economy, the low-carbon transition of small and medium-sized enterprises, vulnerable groups, local participation, and transition management.
Expanding global partnerships to co-create climate solutions
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement encourages voluntary cooperation to enable more ambitious climate action while supporting sustainable development based on environmental integrity, transparency, and avoidance of double counting. With the relevant mechanisms entering the implementation phase, international climate cooperation has expanded beyond political dialogue to include emission reduction projects, technology cooperation, capacity building, and investment. All of these are important avenues for accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Taiwan is advancing its climate diplomacy through pragmatic actions. Last year, the country signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation under the Paris Agreement with its diplomatic ally Paraguay. Today, the two countries are implementing 12 environmental governance action plans, implementing global climate action and practical environmental cooperation through technology sharing, youth dialogue, and circular economy exchanges.
Turkey has described COP31 as the “COP of the future“, emphasizing that commitment is a declaration of intent while implementation is an expression of trust. At a time when global climate governance is entering a crucial stage focused on practical actions and results, Taiwan will continue to deepen global partnerships through pragmatic interaction, concrete contributions, and sharing of its experiences in the transition to net-zero emissions.
Taiwan seeks international support for its full participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and in global climate governance efforts. It firmly believes that achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires the participation of every partner who has the ability and willingness to act.
Taiwan stands ready to cooperate with other countries to translate climate commitments into action and together build a more sustainable, stable, and carbon-neutral future.”