Ministry of Environment announces latest national greenhouse gas inventory Greenhouse gases will still be on the rise after the global pandemic in 2022, but Taiwan's greenhouse gas emissions will be on the decline
In accordance with Article 13 of the Climate Change Response Act and aligned with the latest international standards, the Ministry of Environment collaborated with other departments to compile the "2024 Republic of China National Greenhouse Gas Inventory", which was publicly released on June 25 via the "Climate Info Hub". Statistical findings indicate that in 2022, Taiwan's total greenhouse gas emissions amounted to 285.97 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), with carbon sinks offsetting 21.83 MtCO2e, resulting in a net emissions figure of 264.13 MtCO2e. This represents a decrease of 4.07% from 2021 and a 1.77% reduction from the 2005 baseline year. The data from the inventory distinctly reflects our country's recent achievements in implementing energy transition and sector-specific greenhouse gas reduction strategies. Compared with the rise of greenhouse gas emissions after the pandemic in other countries, the achievement of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Taiwan has not come easily.
Key highlights from this year's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report include:
- Pursuant to Annex I of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change for requiring signatories to provide a National Inventory Report (NIR) for the previous two years, despite not being a signatory, Taiwan has voluntarily adhered to international standards since 2015, compiling and releasing annual greenhouse gas inventory reports based on IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. This year's report follows the decision of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 27) and utilizes Global Warming Potential (GWP) values from the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report for statistical purposes.
- Taiwan’s historical data show that total greenhouse gas emissions decreased every year from a peak in 2007 until 2020. The year 2021 saw a temporary increase in emissions due to post-pandemic economic recovery efforts, driven by increased electricity consumption. However, the growth of emissions reversed course in 2022, demonstrating a downward trajectory again (refer to Figure 1); in addition, the CO2 emission intensity in 2022 was 0.01191 kgCO2/NTD, for a reduction of about 5.62% compared to 2021.
- The comprehensive report and executive summary of the "National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report (2024 edition)" have been published on the "Climate Info Hub" (https://gov.tw/9EA), available for download and use by stakeholders.
In 2022, while global post-pandemic greenhouse gas emissions peaked, Taiwan’s emissions declined.
The Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) reported on "Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions," indicating a record high of 53.8 GtCO2e in 2022, a 1.37% increase from 2021. The International Energy Agency (IEA) released the report "CO2 Emissions in 2023" in 2024, highlighting a 1.3% rise in global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 compared to 2021, reflecting sustained increases amidst global post-pandemic economic recovery. Conversely, Taiwan’s emissions in 2022 displayed decreases in both total greenhouse gas emissions (down 3.78% from 2021) and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions (down 3.39% from 2021), less affected by the post-pandemic recovery than other countries.
In 2022, Taiwan's decoupling of economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions ranked among the top globally.
Compared to advanced international counterparts, our country's economic growth rate increased by 2.60% in 2022 compared to 2021, demonstrating considerable progress in decoupling from greenhouse gas emissions reductions (as shown in Table 1). This underscores the efficacy of our efforts in recent years to promote green growth and facilitate the transition to low-carbon. Efforts to achieve emission reductions amid economic recovery have not been easy, positioning Taiwan at the forefront globally.
In the face of the challenging goal of achieving net-zero by 2050, Taiwan still needs to accelerate carbon reduction efforts.
The Ministry of Environment has underscored the government's recent climate actions, spanning regulatory, institutional, and policy initiatives. The Climate Change Response Act was enacted in 2023, with key ministries spearheading the 2050 net-zero pathway and twelve critical strategic action plans. Following the Sustainable Development Council's decision last August, six major sectors established annual targets to bolster accountability through annual performance reporting. On May 20, 2024, the President launched the "National Project of Hope" to implement five major strategies toward achieving the 2050 net-zero transformation. The Ministry of Environment will actively promote carbon pricing and market mechanisms to facilitate industrial transitions to low-carbon, complemented by annual reviews of target achievements through emissions inventories, advancing towards the goal of "net-zero transformation for a sustainable Taiwan".
Sources: Ministry of Environment
