By Sarah Wu
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday the government will focus on research and development in green energy, smart grids and energy storage equipment in its push to cut carbon emissions.
“Long-term carbon reduction relies on new technologies to produce more breakthroughs,” Tsai said at a sustainability forum to mark Earth Day.
“Taiwan’s industries are export-oriented. We need to break into the global green supply chain,” she added.
Taiwan said last year it intended to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and the government has pledged to spend NT$900 billion ($30.7 billion) by 2030 towards that end.
This week, the cabinet approved a draft amendment of climate legislation that includes the 2050 net-zero goal and the introduction of a carbon pricing scheme.
Tsai said that by 2050, renewable energy should account for more than 60% of Taiwan’s power supply, while hydrogen should account for around 10% and thermal power generation with carbon capture around 20%.
By comparison, in 2020, coal provided 45% of Taiwan’s electricity while liquefied natural gas provided around 36%, government data shows.
Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer and a major Apple supplier, said on Friday it also aims to have net-zero emissions by 2050 and plans to use “at least 50% green power” by 2030.
($1 = 29.2810 Taiwan dollars)
(Reporting by Sarah Wu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
