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Climate change in Taiwan has caused temperatures in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
to rise by 1.4 degrees Celsius the last 100 years. The sea around Taiwan is to rise at twice the rate of the global
sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cr ...
. The government pledged to reduce
emissions Emission may refer to: Chemical products * Emission of air pollutants, notably: **Flue gas, gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue ** Exhaust gas, flue gas generated by fuel combustion ** Emission of greenhouse gases, which absorb and emit radi ...
by 20% in 2030 and 50% in 2050, compared to 2005 levels.


Greenhouse gas emissions

In 2020 the annual emissions were 273.17mt and 11.47t per capita, since 2005 there have been a stabilisation of emissions with the annual emissions increasing with 2.52% and the per capita emissions decreasing with 2.26% between 2005 and 2020. In 2020 the cumulative emissions were 9.05 billion tonnes, in 2020 Taiwan was responsible for 0.78% of worldwide emissions. The
government of Taiwan The Government of the Republic of China, is the national government of the Republic of China whose ''de facto'' territory currently consists of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other island groups in the " free area". Governed by the De ...
has pledged to reduce emissions by 20% in 2030 and 50% in 2050 comparing to 2005 levels. Taichung Power Plant is estimated to have been one of the ten most carbon polluting coal-fired power plants in the world in 2018, at 29.9 million tons of
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...
, and relative emissions are estimated at 1.282 kg per
kWh A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bill ...
.


Impacts on the natural environment


Temperature and weather changes

According to the Taiwan Climate Change Projection Information and Adaptation Knowledge Platform (TCCIP) the number of days that record above 36 degree Celsius in the plains of Taiwan can go from less than 1 day a year in 2021 to 48.1 days in 2100 if the global temperature rise isn't kept under 1.5 degree Celsius, if it is kept under 1.5 degree Celsius there would be 6.6 days a years with such temperatures. The summers could also be extended by the end of the century from 80 days to 210 days, the winters will become shorter with 0 to 50 days compared to 70 days in 2021. The summer of 2020 has been recorded as having the hottest weather ever in Taiwan.


Sea level rise

In a report that Greenpeace Taiwan published in August 2020, it was reported that the sea around Taiwan is rising at twice the rate of the global sea level rise. They said 6 municipalities are in danger of sea level rise and storm surges which accounts for 70% of the population. Places like the Presidential Office Building in
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
, Songshan Airport, parts of
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City ( Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Ka ...
would be flooded and
Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of his ...
would see the biggest damage due to flooding.


Ecosystems

Coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...
s in Taiwan have experienced
bleaching Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...
with 2020 experiencing the worst bleaching in 22 years. 31% of coral reefs around Taiwan are dying due to high temperatures in the sea water. 52% of the corals is experiencing different levels of heat stress and 31% is dying in an irreversible process.


Water resources

Shortages in water reservoirs have been announced in 2020 caused by typhoons not making landfall on Taiwan or going near Taiwan this was the first year in more than 50 years that Taiwan didn't see a storm. Typhoons would normally make landfall three to four times a year but since 2010 the average has been 2.5 typhoons a year. 2020 has experienced the worst drought in more than 50 years as rainfall declined with 20% to 60%. Northern Taiwan could experience more frequent spring droughts between 2040 and 2060, which could have an effect on the water use for the public and water use for agriculture. At the end of the century
typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
s that make landfall in Taiwan will decrease between 44% to 54% comparing to typhoons that made landfall between 1974 and 2015. Which would lead to stronger winds by 4% to 8% and more rainfall during the typhoon with 30% to 40%, the rainfall annually would drop with 40% to 60%.


Mitigation and adaptation


Policies and legislation

The Taiwanese government has pledged to increase renewable energy usage to 20% by 2025. The government pledged to reduce
emissions Emission may refer to: Chemical products * Emission of air pollutants, notably: **Flue gas, gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue ** Exhaust gas, flue gas generated by fuel combustion ** Emission of greenhouse gases, which absorb and emit radi ...
by 20% in 2030 and 50% in 2050, compared to 2005 levels, which was signed to by the 2015 Taiwan Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act. This would not be enough to keep global temperatures between 1.5-2 degrees Celsius, according to the RSPRC. The government of Taiwan has invested in the
wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
industry, Taiwan had the 8th biggest offshore wind market in the world in 2019.


Pricing of carbon

Taiwan does not currently have any form of
carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more sev ...
. In 2009, the
Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER; ) is a Taiwan-based international policy think tank for economic and industry-related research. It conducts both public research and fee-supported research. History After the ending of d ...
(CIER), which had been commissioned by the government to advise on its plan to overhaul the nation's taxes, recommended a levy of (, £37.6) per tonne of CO2 emissions. As a result, vice finance minister Chang Sheng-ho announced a plan for a carbon tax in starting 2011, with the revenues funding low-income families and public transport. However, Premier Wu Den-yih opposed implementing the tax, arguing it would increase public suffering during the then ongoing recession. The carbon tax was never implemented. As opposed to the commonly adopted carbon tax, Taiwan's Climate Change Response Act has proposed implementation of a carbon fee. This would require local companies emitting more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon per year to pay a fee. The carbon fee would come into effect from 2024 or 2025 and would start with large emitters, while other carbon emitting groups would be added subsequently after the initial law is passed.


Society and culture


Public perception

According to a survey that the RSPRC conducted in April 2020, 85% of Taiwanese said that they experienced the effects of climate change on some level. The survey also found that acceleration of
energy transition The energy transition is the process of downshifting fossil fuels and re-developing whole systems to operate on low carbon energy sources. More generally, an energy transition is a significant structural change in an energy system regarding ...
and reduction in carbon was ranked in third place with 38.7% when asked what the government long terms priorities should be. There is bipartisan support under supporters of the Pan-Blue camp (76.2%) and the Pan-Green camp (84%) for a proactive promotion of an energy transition. 78.5% of the respondents supported the governments targets for 2025 to have 20% of renewable energy in 2025. Respondents gave 3.83 out of 7 points for how fair the energy transition is, they gave 3.74 out of 7 points to how well planned the energy transition is and they gave 4.32 out of 7 points on how urgent the government acted on it. 44.7% are supportive to phase out fossil fuels, 43.7% were against phasing out fossil fuels. Academics and experts were the most trusted when talking about energy information (59.3%), environmental groups came second (37.6%). 59.8% of respondents said that businesses should be required to have obligations with the energy transition if they get stimulus from the government to help them through
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
, 77.2% of respondents wanted that they did the same for airlines.


See also

* Plug-in electric vehicles in Taiwan


References

{{Asia topic, Climate change in Climate of Taiwan
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
Environment of Taiwan