Taiwan ready to work with the world on net-zero target: Tsai

Taiwan is eager to work with the rest of the world toward the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 while planning steps to achieve the target on its own, President Tsai Ing-wen (???) said in a brief address to a "Taiwan Day" event in Glasgow on Sunday.

Taiwan cannot take part in any official events at this year's United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference (COP26) being held in the Scottish city because it is not a member of the United Nations and participation as an observer is blocked by Beijing.

The "Taiwan Day" event was set up to give Taiwan a presence on the periphery of the UNFCCC meeting and appeal for inclusion in the process, and Tsai said Taiwan should be seen as part of the global climate solution.

"Taiwan regards attaining net-zero and mitigating crises as our collective and generational responsibility, and for this reason Taiwan should be included as part of the solution to address the global climate crisis," she said by video in her 3 1/2 minute speech that opened the event.

"On this critical issue of climate change, Taiwan is determined to join the world in working toward the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050," she said.

Taiwan has been carrying out an energy transition plan since 2016 and is developing an even more aggressive plan to more toward the net-zero goal, she said.

Among the actions Tsai cited as having been taken by Taiwan to reduce emissions has been a 450 percent increase in installed solar capacity in the past five years, and the opening of Taiwan's first offshore wind farm in 2019.

Taiwan is also considering revisions to laws that Tsai said will incorporate the target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Progress has been slow, however. Taiwan's reliance on fossil fuels to generate electricity has increased from 80.64 percent in 2015, the year before Tsai took office, to 82.19 percent in 2020, according to Bureau of Energy figures.

Coal-fired plants accounted for 44.95 percent of Taiwan's electricity generation, down slightly from 45.39 percent in 2015, while renewables have risen to 5.47 percent of the total, from 4.06 percent in 2015.

The Tsai administration is hoping to increase the share of renewables in the mix to 20 percent by 2025, while phasing out nuclear power, which accounted for 11.22 percent of Taiwan's power generation in 2020.

As part of that plan, Tsai said Sunday, Taiwan hopes to move toward becoming the Green Energy Hub in Asia. "We also want to share our experience with neighboring countries to facilitate a more sustainable region."

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel