Taiwan on Monday launched a carbon exchange to help the country meet its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 and address increasing scrutiny by trading partners.
In the opening ceremony held in southern city of Kaohsiung, where the exchange is based, President Tsai Ing-wen said that managing emissions had become a global concern that Taiwan needed to keep pace with.
She cited the European Union’s forthcoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism whose transitional period would take effect in October.
It would impose levies on products with high emissions footprints imported into the EU.
The aim was to avoid cancelling out EU efforts to lower carbon emissions with imports of CO2-intensive products from other countries, a situation known as “carbon leakage”.
Tsai said the Taiwan Carbon Solution Exchange helped create incentives for carbon reduction and promote the research and development of low-carbon technologies.
In the future, the exchange would also be able to work with other similar platforms, such as those in New York, London, Tokyo and Singapore, the President said.
At the start, the exchange would primarily offer carbon consultancy services to businesses.
More regulations would have to be established before Taiwan starts a carbon credit trading system, according to the government
