EDITORIAL: Make a real effort on climate change
In a long-anticipated Earth Day announcement, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Thursday last week declared that her administration was determined to bring Taiwan in line with the international community in striving for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The pledge is a step forward from the government’s goal of halving emissions from 2005 levels by 2050, but it is also twice as ambitious. As Taiwan joins the world in refocusing its sights on the climate emergency, it is a good moment to review the nation’s energy mix and its plan for the coming transition.
According to the Bureau of Energy, fossil fuels last year made up 82.23 percent of the total energy supply, while nuclear power contributed 11.24 percent and renewables made up 5.4 percent.