2025-05-19
At approximately 10 p.m. on May 17th, the last reactor at Taiwan’s Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant (NPP3) was disconnected from the grid. With that single, silent act, Taiwan effectively turned the page on nuclear energy—realizing the long-aspired vision of a “nuclear-free homeland,” a goal enshrined in both its Basic Environment Act and Climate Change Response Act. This was not merely the decommissioning of a power plant—it was a defining moment in a decades-long struggle over the future of Taiwan’s energy system, a choice between divergent paths of progress. Since the energy transition policy was initiated in the first quarter of 2016, nuclear power’s share of electricity generation has plummeted from 17% to just 3%. Coal, long the dominant source, has seen its share fall from 47% to 35%. Meanwhile, renewable energy—largely wind and solar—has grown nearly tenfold, from 1.3% to 12%, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) now supplies 46% of […]
2025-05-05
On May 17th, Taiwan is set to shut down the last operating reactor at the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant (NPP 3), effectively realizing its long-held goal of becoming a “nuclear-free homeland.” This milestone marks the culmination of a policy first initiated after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)—an anti-nuclear political force—won the presidential election in 2016 and launched an ambitious energy transition plan. The policy aimed to phase out all nuclear power plants by 2025, replacing them with renewable energy sources, while gradually reducing coal-fired power in favor of natural gas. From its inception, the energy transition has been politically contentious. Pro-nuclear parties and advocacy groups initiated two national referendums in 2018 and 2021. The 2018 vote succeeded in repealing a symbolic clause in the Electricity Act referencing a “nuclear-free homeland,” but this had no substantive effect on policy. The 2021 referendum, which sought to revive the mothballed Lungmen Nuclear Power […]
2023-06-30
Development of Just Transition Policies under a Global Climate Regime Author：Chia-Wei Chao (Research Director, Taiwan Climate Action Network), Pei-Wei Yang (Research Assistant, Taiwan Climate Action Network) Abstract： With countries pledging to achieve net-zero emissions and accelerate the phasing-out of fossil fuels, workers and local economies in related industries will face significant changes. To proactively address such impacts and provide support through vocational training and local development planning, the United Nations has increased its focus on a just transition in the negotiation system of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Based on the author’s observations at COP27, this article outlines the implementation plan for the just transition work program under the UN system and the progress of the Just Energy Transition Partnership, and examines Taiwan’s current policies on just transition. Keywords Just Transition, UNFCCC, Just Energy Transition Partnership Original webpage： Link
2023-03-23
Taiwan-Nordic Forum 2023 was holded by Institute for Security and Development Policy. In this panel, Dr. Chia-wei Chao, the Research Director of Taiwan Climate Action Network, and Dr. Ignacio Herrera Anchustegui from Bergen University talked about the experiences of energy transition in Taiwan and Scandinavia.
2023-02-10
