[Environment] Have you also kept up with your "carbon footprint"?

The term "carbon footprint" appears mainly because global warming is becoming more and more serious, and the cause of warming is the production of greenhouse gases. When it comes to carbon footprint, it involves a wide range of aspects. From purchasing food, taking transportation to production and manufacturing, "greenhouse gases" will be produced, which will increase the earth's temperature year by year. Slowing down the emission of "greenhouse gases" is an urgent task.

What is the difference between "carbon footprint" and "carbon emissions"?

Carbon footprint    Carbon footprint discusses measuring the impact of a business, product or person on climate change.

Carbon emissions   Carbon emissions are a measure of the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

When it comes to buying food or taking transportation, you may not understand why carbon emissions are produced. Here we will briefly explain:

Pictured above on the left: Farm tools are required during the harvesting process, and the waste gas produced contains carbon dioxide. In addition, after harvesting, the fruits and vegetables are placed in outer boxes, and the outer boxes will also produce carbon emissions during the production process.

In the picture above: Fruit and vegetables are transported to the market by transport vehicles. The carbon dioxide produced by the combustion of gasoline and diesel during the journey also needs to be calculated and controlled.

Pictured above, right: Fruits and vegetables are placed in refrigeration equipment, and the heat generated by the refrigeration equipment is also subject to carbon emission regulations; plastic bags are made through related equipment, and the carbon emissions produced by the equipment are also subject to control regulations.

Therefore, the focus of the "carbon footprint" discussion is that as long as greenhouse gases are produced in any process and thus affect the climate, further tracking and control are needed to slow down climate change; in the above example, there are emissions from collection to sale. The source of carbon emissions and mitigating its generation are issues currently facing the world.

The carbon fee is based on emissions in 2024 and will be levied in 2025

The Climate Change Agency of the Ministry of Environment has also announced the schedule for the collection of carbon fees in 2023. It plans to use the emissions in 2024 as a baseline calculation and actual collection in 2025. If companies have independent reduction plans, they will provide Preferential rates.

Various products produced by Taiwanese companies will also be levied by the European Union under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The EU currently stipulates that CBAM will be levied in 2026. Products to be declared can only be declared if they have actually paid carbon fees in Taiwan. Therefore, Taiwan's carbon fee collection in 2025 can be linked to the time of CBAM.

The Climate Change Agency also stated that the carbon fee is not a single rate. Carbon fee collection objects can propose voluntary reduction plans and there will be corresponding preferential rates. Therefore, they continue to discuss with the industry how to formulate carbon fees and voluntary reduction plans. .

EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) aims to price the carbon emitted during the production process of high-carbon products entering the EU and encourage non-EU countries to conduct industrial production in a more environmentally friendly manner. After CBAM starts trial operation in October 2023, products exported to the EU in the fourth quarter of the same year must complete the first carbon content declaration in January of the following year. The transition period of the bill will be from 2023 to 2025, and it will be officially implemented in 2026.

Product Carbon Footprint Information

Information about Taiwan's carbon footprint is managed with the assistance of the Industrial Technology Research Institute. If you have any questions, you can go to the official website and I believe you can get the information you need.

https://cfp-calculate.tw/cfpc/WebPage/Index.aspx