To prevent greenhouse gas increase due to anthropogenic emissions that eventually lead to climate change, the Unite Nations passed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992, and summoned the Third Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP3) passed Kyoto Protocol in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 which became effective on February 16, 2005. It mainly regulated 38 industrialized countries and European Union countries to lower individual nation’s greenhouse gas emission to its 1990 emission standard from 2008 to 2012; developing countries did not have obligation in reducing emission during this period.
To cope with the Kyoto Protocol, many countries and international organizations started promoting work on greenhouse gas inventory and reduction. For some countries, they even passed related legislations, such as Swiss’s CO2 reduction law to set reduction goals and implement carbon tax mechanism. Another example is New Zealand, which set the greenhouse gas emission record system, inventory and fine mechanism.
In 2002, Taiwan’s carbon dioxide emission from energy consumption accounted for 1% globally, ranking 22nd worldwide. Energy-intensifying industries consume more energies at current stage, and due to the limit of non-nuclear homeland vision, non-carbon energy development is only restricted to renewable energy sources. Since Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, it is not able to sign the Kyoto Protocol and anticipate in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) officially, all of which pose as challenging factors to CO2 emission reduction. Under the WTO principles, countries which sign the Kyoto Protocol agree to cut down CO2 emission may adopt protective trade measures, exerting pressure of the international market on the local industries.
Environmental Protection Administration of the Executive Yuan has proposed draft of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Act, setting clear division of work. For the central supervising units, the supporting measures are still lacking. Since difficulties of promoting greenhouse gas reduction are with the uncertainty of the allocation of quota and lack of incentives, compulsory regulations and incentives are therefore two effective options for promotion. Carbon Dioxide management is an important part of carbon credit and carbon asset management, as detailed plans on reorganization have yet to be clarified both internationally and domestically, our Foundation aims to make it a topic for discussion so as to help provide objective and diversified opinions for executive units when setting legislations.
The opionions and suggestions
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