2025-03-13
After the election two weeks ago, Friedrich Merz, a conservative and former corporate lawyer for Blackrock, is likely to become the next chancellor of Germany. The campaign was dominated by the economy and migration, while the climate crisis played an insignificant role. According to a recent poll, Germans consider the economic situation and migration as most pressing issues, with 43 % and 42 % ranking them as top concerns, respectively. Germany has long been a key advocate for climate action. But according to Simon Franzmann, Professor for Democratic Studies in Göttingen, parties emphasize growth and the promise of wealth as key topics, while climate targets move back on the political agenda. Will Germany still be able to decarbonize its economy in this political setting? And will it still lead on climate policy after turning against its incumbent center-left coalition? Merz Wins, The Center Loses, Right And Left-Wing Parties Gain Votes […]
2024-01-10
When it comes to the climate, all three candidates in Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election have emphasised the importance of taking action and committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The main driver behind this mainstreaming of climate policy is the fact that supply chain requirements have made the country’s export competitiveness highly connected to climate performance. Therefore, we must scrutinise the comprehensiveness of each candidate’s policy proposals, rather than solely relying on whether they are climate denialists, to distinguish their positions. Taiwan Climate Action Network (TCAN), a collaborative advocacy platform organised by five NGOs, has thus produced a climate commitment tracker to compare their positions on seven key climate-related policies: (1) 2030 emissions reduction target, (2) carbon pricing strategies, (3) 2030 power mix, (4) renewable energy development plan, (5) industrial decarbonisation, (6) public participation, and (7) just transition. In this article, we will focus specifically on their 2030 pledges, carbon pricing strategies, and just […]
2023-01-31
We published a commentary about the 12 key net-zero strategies and the climate change response act on Climate Home News. Due to considerations of reader friendliness and words limitation, the final version of the commentary is quite condensed compared than the original draft. Hence is the complete version: Chia-Wei Chao and Pei-Wei Yang, Taiwan Climate Action Network Taiwan has become an issue of interest in the global climate regime lately due to the geopolitical effects of the US-China climate dialogue. The island itself, however, ranks 22nd globally in terms of territorial CO2 emissions and is among the top five most exposed countries to climate risks — the progress of Taiwan’s climate policies therefore cannot be viewed as a mere footnote to the US-China competition, but an issue that merits great scrutiny on its own. Recently, there are two defining moments in Taiwan climate policy: the announcement of the government’s 12 Key Strategies Action Plan […]
2023-01-31
Published on 31/01/2023, 4:35pm Comment: Taiwan’s industry is responsible for more than half of its emissions but the government’s new climate policies have no specific plan to tackle them. Youth climate activists took to the streets of Taipei in September 2020 (Picture: Li-Wen Chang/Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition) By Chia-Wei Chao and Benjamin Yang When Taiwan makes climate headlines, it’s usually only because of the nation’s impact on the US and China’s climate talks. But the island is important in its own right too. It is the 22nd biggest emitter in the world and is highly at risk from storms and sea level rise. Taiwan’s government has made two big moves on climate recently, but these might not guarantee success unless the country cleans up its biggest source of emissions: industry. Key moves First, on December 28, it allocated US$30 billion for climate investments up to 2030. DR Congo delays rainforest oil auctions Known as the 12 key strategies, this […]
