TAIPEI: Taiwan's environment chief called yesterday for the Legislative Yuan to pass a greenhouse gas control act as soon as possible to serve as a legal basis for facilitating efforts to curb carbon dioxide emissions.

Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) chief Stephen Shu-hung Shen said the legislation of a greenhouse gas emissions control act will enable the government to push for a supply chain carbon inventory, directly accelerating the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from Taiwan's industrial sector.

According to Shen, supply chain carbon inventory has been used on an experimental trial basis in Taiwan by several private companies, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), China Airlines, Kuo-Kuang Motor Transport and the Taipei 101 building.

He also said that since the Legislative Yuan has already passed an act governing the development of renewable energy, the administration should capitalize on that policy.

He suggested that the Bureau of Energy under the economic affairs authorities borrow from Germany's experience in purchasing alternative energy produced by the private sector as a means to bolster the development of renewable energy.

Shen made the remarks during a hearing at the Legislative Yuan in which the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions was the principal topic and which coincided with a meeting under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that opened in the Copenhagen yesterday.

Shen also said yesterday that Taiwan and the mainland may soon open a new front in their efforts to cement bilateral ties, as talks on cooperation on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) could be in the works.

Noting that environmental protection officials from Taiwan and the mainland have started planning joint measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, Shen said the officials from both sides may meet after the Copenhagen Climate Conference for a forum on environmental protection or to discuss CDM collaboration.

"The Copenhagen Climate Conference is one of the most important meetings this century," Shen said.

It is not only reviewing progress achieved under the Kyoto Protocol, its discussions would have an important impact on future trends for global industrial development, he noted.

The CDM is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol. It allows industrialized countries with a stated commitment to reducing greenhouse gases to invest in ventures that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emissions cuts in their own countries.

According to news reports from the mainland, as of the end of October, Beijing had approved 2,232 CMD projects, 663 of which have been successfully registered with the CDM Executive Board of the United Nations - the highest number of CDM registered projects for a single country worldwide.

It is envisioned that the 663 projects will help cut greenhouse gas emissions on the mainland by 190 million tons per year, constituting 58 percent of the total emissions reduction projected for registered CDM projects globally, according to a mainland official.

Taiwan can borrow from the mainland's experience in CDM development and in turn use the CDM cooperation to create a win-win situation for both sides, Shen said.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 12/08/2009 page2)