The Executive Yuan's version of the "Climate Change Response Act" was finally sent to the Legislative Yuan and today (4/28) a public hearing on the revision of the climate law was held at the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee. In this regard, environmental groups called for the establishment of ministries' powers and responsibilities and an effective carbon fee. It is necessary to have an implementation and management mechanism and expand its use and to plan for a short-term carbon fee and a long-term carbon tax.
Environmental groups jointly pointed out that, although it has been is affirmed that the 2050 net zero emission target will be incorporated into the law drafted by the two Yuans and reduction tools such as carbon fees and efficiency standards will be added, there are still some deficiencies. The following are suggestions from citizen groups on the draft “Climate Change Response Act.”
Environmental groups believe that the current National Council for Sustainable Development is limited by its lack of professional capabilities, lack of administrative capacity, and lack of substantive power, so that it cannot effectively play a coordinating role. Citizens' groups believe that an Executive Yuan Climate Report should be established with the President as the convener. A complete climate governance mechanism can be established only by inviting the heads of ministries, scholars, and civic groups to participate and giving the Council the power to report sufficient human resources, integrate administrative resources, and conduct appraisals.
In response to the current carbon fee mechanism, environmental groups pointed out that the current carbon fee, not only does not set a reduction target, but also lacks an effective monitoring mechanism and it can easily become the next ineffective air pollution fund. If the carbon fee is only NT$100, Taiwan's carbon emissions will continue to rise by 17% in 2050, which obviously does not contribute to net zero.
Therefore, citizen groups have jointly called on the Legislative Yuan to strictly review the provisions of the carbon fee, formulate a principle for the carbon fee rate, incorporate a management and examination mechanism into law, and put forward specific performance evaluation goals (such as the carbon reduction effect of carbon fee, etc.). In addition, the use of funds should not give priority to subsidizing industries with high carbon emissions and a larger proportion should be used in aspects that are in line with climate justice including vulnerable groups affected by climate change, fair transition of industrial labor, and care for small businesses that are low carbon emitting and lack of capital for transformation.
Considering that the carbon fee is limited, the government should clarify the schedule of the "carbon tax" plan and raise the level of governance. Citizen groups have also put forward specific suggestions for amendments to the draft carbon fee related to the above-mentioned content.
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