Taiwan Premier Wu Wants Cap-And-Trade System for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Taiwan’s Premier Wu Den-yih has urged the island’s Environmental Protection Administration to plan for the introduction of a cap-and-trade system on greenhouse-gas emissions to help reduce pollution.

The EPA should coordinate with lawmakers to facilitate the passage of a proposed law that would set the framework for emissions trading, the Cabinet said in an e-mailed statement in Taipei today. President Ma Ying-jeou, who took office in May 2008, has pledged to cut emissions to 2000 levels by 2025.

The Cabinet sent the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Bill to the Legislative Yuan in October 2008 for review. The proposed law may conflict with plans by CPC Corp. and Formosa Plastics Group to expand oil refineries and ethylene plants that would increase carbon-dioxide emissions by 20 percent, according to former lawmaker Wang To-far.

“They are only paying lip service,” Wang said by telephone today. “Where’s the progress?”

Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co., a venture led by state-owned CPC, plans to build a 300,000 barrel-a-day refinery and an ethylene plant to compete with rival Formosa Plastics, which is seeking government approval to expand its chemical plants in Mailiao, western Taiwan.

The industrialized island releases about three times more heat-trapping gases per person than the world average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on the story: Yu-huay Sun in Taipei ysun7@bloomberg.net