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Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said Saturday that reduction of carbon emissions from local energy industries is expected to reach 3 million tons in 2010, which represents about NT$1.68 billion (US$52.4 million) in economic value.
According to the Bureau of Energy under the economic ministry, if current carbon trading prices at European Union markets is 14 euros per ton, then the value of Taiwan’s full-year carbon emission reduction would be equal to 42 million euros, or about NT$1.68 billion.
As of July, the energy bureau has approved 38 applications from the local energy sector for checking their greenhouse gas inventory or verifying their carbon reductions, compared to a total of 30 applications in 2009, the bureau said.
The growing number of applications showed that the ministry’s program to subsidize energy-producing industries on controlling their emissions of greenhouse gas and verifying their carbon reductions have won recognition from the industries, it added.
Among those cases, electricity suppliers accounted for about 71 percent of the successful applicants, followed by cogeneration industries at 18 percent.
The economic ministry started to offer assistance to the local energy sector on conducting greenhouse gas inventory checks, as well as voluntary carbon reductions and verifications in 2006. And it began to subsidize energy companies on such programs in 2009. (By Lin Hui-chun and Fanny Liu) ENDITEM/cs