Taiwan's First Carbon Fee Revenue Nears NT$5 Billion; Semiconductor Sector Accounts for Over 40%

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Environment on Wednesday announced the results of the first collection of carbon fees. A total of 461 facilities paid carbon fees, with the total amount reaching NT$4.97 billion (US$153 million). The semiconductor manufacturing sector accounted for over 40% of the total payments. Notably, all payers chose to pay the full amount in a single lump sum, with no one opting for installment payments or deferment.

According to the Carbon Fee Collection Regulations, power and gas supply industries and manufacturing industries with annual greenhouse gas emissions of 25,000 metric tons or more were required to pay the carbon fee by the end of May this year, based on their total emissions for the previous year. The carbon fee system took effect last year, and this year marks the first actual payment phase.

The Ministry announced that a total of 461 facilities (240 companies) were required to pay, resulting in a total collection of NT$4.97 billion. Among these 461 facilities, the semiconductor manufacturing sector comprised 123 facilities (with TSMC alone accounting for 33 facilities), paying a total of approximately NT$2.2 billion.

Additionally, the power supply sector had 19 facilities paying NT$635 million, the steel industry had 29 facilities paying approximately NT$400 million, and the cement and cement product manufacturing sector had 9 facilities paying NT$130 million.

Tsai Ling-yi, Director of the Climate Change Administration under the Ministry of Environment, explained that the initial estimate for carbon fee revenue was around NT$4.5 billion. The increase was mainly because 28 companies that had originally applied for a preferential rate by submitting voluntary reduction plans either withdrew their applications or had them rejected, and were subsequently charged at the standard rate of NT$300 per metric ton.

According to the Climate Change Administration's statistics, a total of 430 facilities applied for voluntary reduction plans in this period, and 402 were approved. Director Tsai added that the main reason for rejection was likely that the proposed reduction projects failed to meet the review standards. As for the withdrawals, the companies explained that due to economic growth and increased production capacity, achieving their original voluntary reduction targets had become difficult, leading them to withdraw their applications.

It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Environment had provided options for installment payments or deferment in response to international factors such as war. Director Tsai pointed out that all payers in this round chose to pay directly in a lump sum, without utilizing the deferment or installment options.

Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming emphasized that considering the market cost of carbon reduction, which is roughly NT$3,000 to NT$6,000 per ton, although the initial carbon fee collection was only NT$4.9 billion, the value created, calculated based on market carbon reduction costs, is estimated to be between NT$150 billion and NT$300 billion.

Minister Peng noted that the semiconductor industry has been particularly prosperous in recent years, so it bears a relatively larger responsibility in terms of carbon fees. He added that based on the current payment figures, there is almost no impact on traditional industries such as housing and textiles, or on the prices of various livelihood goods. (Edited by Chen Ching-fang) 1150603