Time: Friday, 27th September, 10:00- 11:30 AM EST
Venue: Physical address in Manhattan to be determined, New York
Since spaces are limited, we will respond to successful applicants with the full event details five days before the event. If conditions permit, the event will be live streamed or recorded, and we will send you the livestream link of this event.
Semiconductor chips are becoming strategic materials in this digital age. To secure the supply, EU, US and Japan all proposed a new plan to expand domestic production capacity, to reduce the dependence from Taiwan and Korea.
However, those strategies hardly include the decarbonization consideration in the scope, which apparently overlooks the climate facts that the semiconductor industry contributes nearly half of growth in terms of electricity demand between 2015 ~ 2023; and the world’s largest contract manufacturer of the semiconductor chips, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), has already become the third biggest corporate carbon emitter in Taiwan. Although 75% of carbon footprint of semiconductor chips can be attributed to electricity consumption, where the decarbonization options are matured and cost-effective.
Moreover, the major manufacturers included TSMC, Intel, SK Hynix already committed to RE100, to meet the net-zero pledge made by Apple and other major buyers. RE100 commitment implied the carbon footprint of chips will be aligned with the global net-zero emission pathway eventually, but according to the experience in Taiwan, the rising electricity demand of the semiconductor industry creates a dramatic challenge to strengthen the nationally determined contribution (NDC) for 2030.
The contradiction between time and geographical horizon along the global supply chain are hardly discussed. For example, there is no discussion about this industry in the third installment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report. Although the industry launched the “Semiconductor Climate Consortium” to drive progress on climate challenges within the whole value chain in 2022, however, there is no collaborative campaign strategy from international climate advocacy.
In light of the aforementioned circumstances, the Taiwan Climate Action Network is organizing this forum during New York Climate Week. In addition to sharing our research team’s study on the net-zero pathways for Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, we will also invite think tank teams from the United States and Europe who are engaged in related research to participate as discussants, they will analyze how these countries have considered the environmental footprint of the semiconductor industry in their recent developments.
Through this opportunity, we aim to shape an international network of civil society organizations that supervises the semiconductor industry’s fulfillment of net-zero commitments.
Speaker:
- Chia-Wei Chao／Research Director of Taiwan Climate Action Network / Adjunct Assistant Professor ofProgram in Climate Change & Sustainable Development, National Taiwan Uni.（Taiwan）
- Chi-Hung Lu/ Researcher, Taiwan Political Economy Collaborative（Taiwan）
- Julia Christina Hess/ Senior Policy Researcher, interface （Germany）
Julia Hess is Senior Policy Researcher for “Global Chip Dynamics”. Her focus is on the strategic relevance of semiconductors and the analysis of the global, interdependent value chain. Most recently, Julia presented her work to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy in the European Parliament.
Julia has been working at SNV since 2019, initially conducting research at the intersection of AI and foreign policy with a focus on AI governance. In 2021, she was a fellow at the Gesellschaft für Informatik’s AI Camp. Before joining SNV, Julia worked in press and communications at various science and cultural institutions and NGOs, most recently at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. She studied media culture and sociology at the University of Cologne and completed her master’s degree in social and business communication at the Berlin University of the Arts.
- Gary Cook/ the Author of Clean Clicks or Dirty Chips?（U.S.）
Panel Moderator:
- John Chung-En Liu／Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, National Taiwan Uni.（Taiwan）
Hosted by:
Taiwan Climate Action Network
Please register by clicking here
For inquiries, please contact: tcan2050.official@gmail.com
