The Legislative Yuan will pass the third reading of the "Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Law" today (10th) and rename it as the "Climate Change Response Law". my country has taken the most important step towards net zero emissions.

The vigilante criticized the Ministry of Finance and refused to take responsibility for the green tax system.

(Information photo, provided by Taipower)

[Reporter Yang Chengyu/Taipei Report] The Legislative Yuan will pass the "Amendment to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act" for the third reading today (10th), officially changing its name to the "Climate Change Response Act", which is a historic step for my country's climate governance.

Citizen groups who have long been concerned about the revision of the law stated through a joint statement that although some provisions of the revision are affirmed, there are still shortcomings.

Among them, the militia criticized the Ministry of Finance for refusing to undertake green fiscal and tax responsibilities during the deliberation period of the bill, allowing the green tax system, "carbon fee first, linking carbon tax" and other long-term responsibilities to disappear in the climate legal system, which is contrary to the international carbon tax trend.

Environmental Rights Protection Foundation, Green Citizen Action Coalition, Earth Citizen Foundation, Taiwan Environmental Planning Association, Taiwan Youth Climate Alliance, Environmental Justice Foundation and other groups that care about the climate issued a joint statement today after the revision of the "Climate Law".

The militia group stated that the third reading of the climate law has been completed, but there is still unfinished business, and the citizen group will continue to monitor it.

More urgently, after the revision of the law, there are still many things that should be promoted, so that the overall policy can be accelerated under the tremendous pressure of climate change and the world situation.

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The militia group said that they will definitely include the 2050 net-zero emission goal and a just transformation; in addition, the word "low-carbon diet" has been included in the law, and the plant-based diet is placed in the explanation column, which is also a bright spot. It will be the basis for the implementation of food policies by the Agricultural Committee and other units in the future.

However, although the powers and responsibilities of some ministries are clearly defined, it is a pity that the "Ministry of Finance" is responsible for the green tax system, and the "Ministry of Health and Welfare" is responsible for the management of national physical and mental health and public health risks under climate change.

Regarding the part of the green tax system, the militia is targeting the Ministry of Finance.

The militia emphasized that to achieve net zero cannot rely solely on green finance, but must rely on a complete green fiscal and taxation policy.

However, during the review period of the bill, the Ministry of Finance firmly refused to assume the responsibility of green finance and taxation, allowing the green tax system, "carbon fee first, linking carbon tax" and other scheduled responsibilities to completely disappear in the climate legal system, which is contrary to the international carbon tax trend.

The group pointed out that due to the global carbon pricing trend, the carbon price level will exceed US$100 per ton before 2030, and the carbon fee will not be able to support this high carbon pricing level.

Therefore, it is still necessary to link up with the carbon tax system.

However, the collection of carbon tax is a political opinion at the presidential election level and must be enacted separately.

Therefore, the militia requires the Ministry of Finance to fulfill the requirements of the energy transition white paper and propose a complete carbon tax plan this year; it also calls on the presidents and legislative candidates of all political parties to include carbon tax in their political opinions in order to ensure the integrity of my country's carbon pricing system sex.

In addition, the civil society appealed that in order to enable the introduction of carbon fees in 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency should formulate sub-laws as soon as possible to provide scientific research on the relationship between fee rates and carbon reduction capabilities for citizens to review the effectiveness of their policies, and specify how to disclose carbon fee funds every year The report on the state of budget preparation and implementation performance, and how to increase the rate according to my country’s carbon reduction process to meet the net-zero path, and organize a rate review meeting in the first quarter of this year to propose a plan for future carbon fee collection, leaving sufficient time for Stakeholders participate in discussions to ensure that both the rate and usage of the carbon fee have the effect of reduction.

The militia group also mentioned that although the revision of the law added a special chapter on adjustment, it did not specify the principle of human rights protection.

In addition, the climate citizen litigation clause has not been included in the law, and the militia thinks that the legalization of climate supervision cannot be improved, which is deeply regrettable.

Citizen groups said that after the amendment of the "Climate Law" was passed, citizen groups will continue to promote the amendment of climate citizen litigation clauses, and pay attention to the enactment of the Environmental Protection Agency's carbon fee law, the revision of the "Main Points of the Executive Yuan's Sustainable Development Council", and the "No. Phase III Adaptation Action Plan" and "Twelve Key Strategies for the 2050 Net-Zero Emissions Pathway" under the responsibility of the National Development Council.