Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Lobbying Overview: The Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association (TSIIA) appears to have limited but negative engagement with climate policy. The organization appears to support climate policy at the national level, potentially at the expense of regional policies. It opposed imposing simultaneous carbon fees and emissions reduction targets in Taiwan, the emissions reduction target proposed by the Kaohsiung City government and the renewable energy target proposed by the Tainan city government. The organization does not appear to have engaged with the energy transition in the last two years.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: TSIIA appears to have limited top-line communications on climate policy. In a December 2021 consultation meeting on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act, TSIIA supported the role of the central government in planning and implementing climate policy, whilst cautioning against regional climate regulations. The association does not appear to have explicitly supported the Paris Agreement and emissions reduction pathways aligned with 1.5C or 2C targets.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: TSIIA appears to have engaged with specific climate policies, with predominantly negative positions. As reported by Yahoo News in March 2022, the organization supported carbon tax in Taiwan. However, in a December 2021 consultation meeting on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act, TSSIA did not appear to support an ambitious carbon price and advocated against the simultaneous imposition of carbon fee and emissions reduction target in Taiwan. In a meeting with Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration in July 2023, the organization advocated for including the sectors subjected to carbon fee in the voluntary emissions trading scheme, which appears to run counter to the Administration’s original intention as it may result in double counting of the reduced emissions and hinder overall emissions reduction results. In May 2023, at the public hearing on the Net-Zero Development and Management Act of Kaohsiung City, TSIIA opposed the target to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030 in the city, which is more ambitious than the 24% target set by the national government. In the same May 2023 public hearing, TSIIA also appeared unsupportive of imposing the renewable energy mandate simultaneously with carbon fee in the Act. In the January 2023 public hearing on the Net-Zero Development and Management Act of Tainan City, TSIIA opposed the target of 20% renewable energy for large electricity consumers.
Positioning on Energy Transition: The Association does not appear to have engaged on the low-carbon energy transition in the past two years.