Government-Industry Partnership for Net-Zero Emissions and Industry Transformation

To help industries reduce carbon emissions, achieve low carbon emissions, and attain net-zero emissions, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) convened the first meeting of the “Industry and Energy Efficiency Working Group Committee” on September 17, 2021. The MOEA invited members of the industry, government, academia, and research institutions including Formosa Petrochemical, Formosa Chemicals & Fibre, Chang Chun Group, CPC Corporation, Cheng Loong, YFY Group (Chung Hwa Pulp), Far Eastern New Century, KiWi New Energy, Academia Sinica, Industrial Technology Research Institute, and experts and academics to jointly discuss key issues in the industry transformation to net-zero emissions.

Tseng Wen-sheng, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, serves as the convener of the “Industry and Energy Efficiency Working Group Committee”. Lin Min-ju, Vice Chairman of the Chinese National Federation of Industries, and Leu Jang-hwa, Director General of the Industrial Development Bureau, MOEA, served as the deputy conveners. The highest-ranking executives and experts of industries were invited to serve as consulting members. The core functions of the Committee will be the integration of resources of bureaus and agencies of MOEA, fostering teamwork and cooperation, international exchanges in technologies, and selection of suitable strategies for Taiwan to effectively support industry policies and technology development policies.

In the meeting, representatives of the industry, including Chairman Chen Bao-lang of FPCC, Executive Director Tsai Tung-ho of paper company Cheng Lung, and Senior Manager Lin Wen-chih of Far Eastern New Century, proposed their companies’ carbon reduction plans for 2030 and 2050. After extensive discussions with representatives of the industry, experts, and academics in the meeting, the industry representatives stated the technical, financial, and policy issues. The chair of the meeting, Deputy Minister Tseng Wen-sheng stated that the MOEA will continue to work hard with the industry and adopt a pragmatic and forward-looking approach to help the industry prepare for the global competition in net-zero emissions by 2050. The MOEA will continue to create the legislation and system that are most suitable for the industries and technologies of Taiwan while accounting for financial feasibility and promotion of net-zero emissions.

According to research by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the reduction of carbon emissions for the global net-zero target before 2030 will be mostly achieved with existing technologies. By 2050, nearly half the carbon reduction will be achieved by technologies that are currently only in pilot programs or prototype stages. The MOEA will continue to use the Committee to integrate the resources of the government, private sector, and technology development institutions. It shall work together with industries to create demonstration programs in three major areas — process improvement, energy efficiency, and circular economy. Large enterprises must fulfill their corporate social responsibility and help SMEs in their supply chain enhance their capabilities (e.g., inventory of emissions and carbon footprint and sharing technologies for reducing carbon emissions), start initiatives for reducing carbon emissions, jointly respond to global trends for attaining net-zero emissions, and accelerate the low-carbon transformation of the industry.

Sources: Ministry of Economic Affairs