Policy and institutions · Taiwan

Taiwan puts 2025 net emissions 8.7% below 2005 as it reports four straight years of decline

Taiwan's Ministry of Environment (MOENV) estimates that national net greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 were 8.7% below the 2005 base year.

In a release dated 11 November 2026, MOENV reports that net emissions have fallen every year since 2021, by more than 2% a year on average.

For the decade from 2015 to 2025, the ministry puts real GDP growth at 47.6% and the fall in emissions at 8.7%, and it restates NDC 3.0 targets of 28±2% by 2030 and 38±2% by 2035.

11 Nov 2026Policy and institutionsTaiwanPublished 14 Nov 2026
Taipei skyline at dusk, seen from Elephant Mountain
Taipei skyline at dusk, seen from Elephant Mountain. Photo: Debjyoti Bardhan, CC BY 2.0, source. Resized only; no other change.
Report

What happened

On 11 November 2026, during the UN climate conference COP31 in Türkiye, MOENV's Climate Change Administration published a summary of Taiwan's emissions record, organised around four points. The first concerns the trend: by the ministry's estimate, national net emissions in 2025 were 8.7% lower than in 2005, after four consecutive years of decline beginning in 2021, with the average annual fall above 2%.

The second point is about growth and emissions. MOENV compared eight economies over the decade from 2015 to 2025 and put Taiwan's real GDP growth over that period at 47.6% and its emissions over the same period at 8.7% lower. This 2015-2025 figure is separate from the 2025-versus-2005 estimate in the first point, although both are given as 8.7%. On that basis the ministry describes Taiwan as having achieved absolute decoupling, meaning output grew while emissions fell in absolute terms rather than only per unit of GDP.

The third point covers policy instruments. The release notes that the carbon fee is now being collected, with revenue earmarked for mitigation and adaptation, and that the NDC 3.0 targets of a 28±2% cut by 2030 and a 38±2% cut by 2035 are being implemented through 20 flagship programmes across six sectors, monitored across ministries. The fourth point links Taiwan's position to the COP31 goals: electricity made up 34.8% of final energy use in Taiwan in 2025, and building energy efficiency and equipment standards are covered by the residential and commercial sector's actions.

Context

Background

The figures arrive in the first full year of carbon fee payments. The Climate Change Response Act, amended on 15 February 2023, set a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 and created the fee. Plants emitting at least 25,000 tCO2e a year in power, gas supply and manufacturing pay NT$300 per tCO2e, or NT$50 to NT$100 with an approved voluntary reduction plan. Before launch, MOENV estimated that payers would cover about 155 MtCO2e, about 54% of national emissions.

The first payment round closed in May 2026, with 461 plants run by 240 companies paying for their 2025 emissions. Of those plants, 402 have approved voluntary reduction plans, which MOENV expects to deliver 45.2 MtCO2e of reductions by 2030. The second Carbon Fee Rate Review Committee met on 2 November 2026 to consider three options for the rate and reached no consensus, asking for more data. In August 2026 the UK listed the carbon fee as one of 16 qualifying carbon pricing schemes for its CBAM.

Data

How it compares

Headline economy-wide emission targets: Taiwan and three other economies

Source: Ministry of Environment (MOENV); Laws & Regulations Database of the ROC (Ministry of Justice); Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE), published on korea.kr; HKSAR Government, Environment Bureau; Clean Energy Regulator. Checked 2026-11-12. Targets are as published by each government; base years differ, so percentages are not directly comparable. Hong Kong's target refers to carbon emissions.

Table of the same figures
EconomyTargetBase yearLong-term goal
Taiwan (NDC 3.0)−28±2% by 2030; −38±2% by 20352005 (2025 estimate: −8.7%)Net zero by 2050
South Korea (2035 NDC)53–61% below by 20352018 net emissions (742.3 Mt)Not in cited fact
Hong Kong (Climate Action Plan 2050)−50% before 20352005Not in cited fact
Australia43% below by 20302005Net zero by 2050
Ahead

What is next

No further dates are set in the official texts we checked.

Record

Sources

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